Meeting Naruto
by kerrieleigh
Summary: DISCONTINUED. Naruto is 7 years old when he decides to run away from Konoha. But what will happen when he meets a stranger? And why does the blonde-haired man look so familiar...
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto anime/manga/merchandise, and never will; they belong to Masashi Kishimoto. This was written by myself and is merely created out from my own crazy imagination.

Meeting Naruto

Alone again.

Always alone.

No…not alone. Never alone. _He_ was always there. Lurking in the shadows of his mind. Always, always there! He could run from the vengeful villagers, he could hide from the bullies, but the boy could never escape _him_…Kyuubi…

Uzumaki Naruto buried his head into his legs. The young boy, barely seven years old, was knelt with his arms wrapped around his knees behind a tall oak tree several miles from the village. His blonde spiky hair was a nest of tangles, uncombed for several days, and his black shorts and green t-shirt were covered in soot. He'd barely escaped…some villagers had chased him around the village, trapping him on the roof of an abandoned flat. In desperation the young boy had jumped down the chimney only to find himself trapped in a boarded up fireplace. It had taken him four hours to kick the boards from the front of the fireplace and after he'd finally broke free the boy had ran as far from the village as he could. No one had even come looking for him.

"Not that I care!" Naruto didn't even notice he was speaking aloud, suddenly punching the tree as anger surged through him. "They can all go to hell. I don't need them, I don't need anyone!"

The boy stood defiantly, his fist pressed into the tree. Although his eyes were closed he knew he was bleeding by the feel of thick sticky liquid trickling into the gaps between his knuckles. The rough bark of the tree had obviously cut into the boys small hands.

Several seconds of solemn silence were broken as Naruto sniffed, then choked back sobs. His eyes still closed the young blond collapsed onto his knees and began to cry. His bloodied hands were curled into fists and he thumped the dirt over and over, releasing the well of anger, hatred and defeat he felt the only way the boy knew.

"You know if you carry on doing that that wound on your hand will get infected."

A voice cut through the boy's cries. Naruto opened his eyes and raised his head so he could see the stranger:

The man was tall and had the unwrinkled complexion of a young man, most likely only in his twenties. His hair was sunbeam blonde and naturally spiky and his bright blue eyes were tinted with a glimmer of gold from the light of the falling sun. He was stood above Naruto with his arms crossed and a disapproving look on his face. Naruto had a vague feeling of recognition but dismissed it; certain he would remember the man if he'd ever met him.

Meanwhile the man continued to stare down at the young boy at his feet. His blank, nearly emotionless visage didn't show his confusion. The boy was staring up at him with large sky blue eyes, red rimmed with tears. Why was the boy crying? Surely the cuts on his hand weren't that bad? Maybe he was lost…

"Hey kid, where you from?" the man asked, sitting beside the boy. Naruto stared wide-eyed at the stranger and began to shuffle away from him, certain the man's kindness was a trick; the man was sure to attack him any second. No one could be trusted.

"Don't be scared, I won't hurt you," the man said, reaching his hand towards the boy. Naruto's eyes widened further as he glanced at the strange suspiciously. The younger blonde tensed the muscles in his legs; preparing to run.

When the man saw this he swiftly got to his feet and began to walk towards the boy. He was curious and somewhat worried for the child. Why was he so scared? The man's conscience would not allow a crying child, obviously in pain, to run into the forest; it was full of dangerous animals that would kill a kid like him in seconds.

Naruto knew, sadly from experience, that he couldn't outrun someone of the man's stature. His legs were too short, his appearance too eye-catching, not to be caught almost immediately. If only he knew jutsu and was able to perform the amazing tricks he'd seen the Anbu-sans doing then he'd be able to escape from the man easily. But Naruto was rubbish at the academy; teachers wouldn't help him because of who he was.

They – the teachers, the shinobi, the villagers, the old man –didn't realise he knew the cause of his pain, the endless loneliness he'd endured as long as he could remember. They thought he was unaware of what lurked within him; they thought he was too clueless, too dim-witted; to notice the swirling pattern with decorated his unblemished stomach whenever he practiced with his chakra. But he wasn't stupid, or dim; he knew he was a container for a demon – perhaps he was even the demon itself. He knew it like he knew he was an orphan.

Convinced fleeing would be futile Naruto swallowed what meagre pride his situation as a demon container allowed him and resigned himself to begging.

"Please…" the man heard the boy say in a quiet voice.

"Hey it's alright. I won't hurt you, I promise," the man said.

Naruto eyed the man wearily; a promise was a sacred thing even he respected.

"You promise?"

"Yeah I promise," the man replied. Naruto narrowed his eyes, causing the strange to wonder at the suspicion he saw within their depths. The young blonde continued to examine the older man for many minutes before he reached a decision.

Rubbing his eyes, which were sore from his earlier misery, he smiled shyly at the stranger. No one, beyond the old man, had ever been kind to him before. Even the anbu who sometimes visited did no more than check his supplies and money before quickly leaving. But it was probably because the man didn't know who he was, _what_ was sealed away inside of him.

"Well, where are you from?" the man asked again.

"Konohanogakure," Naruto answered. Naruto thought he saw something flicker in the man's gaze in response to the village's name, but it was gone before he could identify it.

"Konoha? How about I heal your wound then, and take you back to your village?" As he spoke the man's gaze trailed down to the boy's hand.

"My wound?" Naruto said; frown showing his confusion.

"Yes, you hurt your hand. Let me see. I can heal it for you."

Naruto nervously lifted his hand into the man's field of vision. The stranger's eyes widened; where there had once been an open cut there was smooth skin – the only sign that the boy had even been hurt was a red splodge where his wound must have been not minutes before. The stranger scrutinized the young boy for many seconds, surprised and wary of the boy's abnormally fast healing rate, before concluding that the boy must be the carrier of a kekkai genkai. It was the only explanation for such an astonishing feat.

"It looks fine," he finally said and Naruto dropped his hand.

"Konoha is this way. Come on kid; let's get you home," the stranger said over his shoulder as he headed into the dense foliage which covered the ground of the forest.

"Okay," Naruto said and followed the man obediently.

After ten minutes of silence the man said "Maybe we should hurry, we don't want anyone to worry."

"We don't need to hurry," Naruto answered, "As long as I'm back before nightfall they won't come looking for me."

"So your parents know you're out then?"

Naruto gave the man an odd look. "I don't have any parents."

The man looked over his shoulder at the boy – while he wasn't overly surprised that child was an orphan, since it wasn't rare for shinobi to leave behind children when they died, he was confused about something else.

"Who are 'they' then?"

"What?"

"You said 'they' would come looking for you if you're not home by nightfall. Who did you mean?"

"The Anbu-san," Naruto replied.

The man stopped walking. He turned to face the boy with a strange expression in his steady blue gaze.

"Why have we stopped?" Naruto said, puzzled at the man's actions.

"Are the Anbu your carers?" he questioned, frowning at the boy stood so meekly before him.

"Carers?"

"The people who look after you."

"Oh," Naruto rubbed the back of his head self-consciously, "I look after myself."

"What?" the man almost seem to shout his response and the sudden change of volume startled Naruto, causing the young blonde to take a step back from the clearly agitated man. The stranger, seeing Naruto's reaction, calmed himself before asking "How old are you?"

"I'm seven years, five months and three days today," Naruto said. Seeing the bemused look the stranger was giving him as a result of his precision Naruto shrugged and said "I'm good with numbers."

The man quickly did the math. "Your birthday's October 10th?" he said and continued walking, the boy at his heels.

"Yeah," Naruto said.

The stranger mused on the boy's birth date as they walked. October 10th was a very significant day in the history of Konoha – it was the day the hidden village had been attacked by the fierce nine-tailed bijou Kyuubi no Kitsune. Now he knew the young boy's birthday it was no longer surprising to him that the child was an orphan – why he was being watched by the Anbu though was an entirely different and intriguing matter. He wondered for a moment if the boy would answer should he question him on it but, remembering the trusting smile the boy had given him earlier, he shoved this thought away.

The pair didn't speak as they resumed their journey and before long they found themselves at the edge of the forest, staring down at Konoha spread below them. In the distance the man saw the heads of the former Hokage's carved into the rock face. One particular face caught his eye and he grimaced, quickly looking away from the frowning visage.

"Well this is where I say bye kid," the man said, reaching out to ruffle the boy's spiky hair.

Naruto looked confused at the man's caring actions, and then said "Aren't you coming with me?"

"Sorry but I can't. Got places to go. Don't worry you'll be alright, the gate's just down there."

"I know," Naruto said glumly, staring down at the village. "Bye then."

For some strange reason Naruto felt tears prickling at his eyes. Why was he crying? The man hadn't hurt him. Before the man could notice Naruto turned away and began to walk towards the gate, waving bye over his shoulder.

"Bye old man!" he yelled behind him as he walked quickly down the hill.

"Hey!" the man shouted in response, "I'm not old!" The kid turned slightly to pull a face at the irritated stranger. The man growled under his breath and moved to re-enter the cover of the forest.

However before he could vanish into the woodlands welcoming shadows his curiosity won out and he hollered "Hey kid what's your name?"

The boy didn't even turn around to answer; "Uzumaki Naruto. Remember it old man!"

The man, meanwhile, had halted mid-movement when he heard the child's name. Uzumaki Naruto? _His _Naruto? No, it couldn't be possible. No…_his son_…he'd been inches from his son without even realising it…no!

The man was tempted to call back the boy, his _son_, but reined back his instinct, reminding himself that it was for the best if his son remained unaware of his existence –it would only hurt Naruto in the end.

The Yondaime sighed, his gaze lingering for only a brief moment on the swiftly disappearing back of Uzumaki Naruto, before he disappeared into the forest.


	2. Chapter 2

"Happy birthday," Naruto whispered.

The boy now eight years old was once again alone in his apartment on the 10th of October; unofficially barred from going outside. It was unofficial because no one had actually told him not to go outside on the October 10th, but an attempt to leave his apartment made when he was six had taught him that staying within its four walls was 'for the best'.

October 10th, as well as being Naruto's birthday, was when the defeat of bijou Kyuubi no Kitsune was celebrated. The fact that Kyuubi had been defeated by sealing him in Naruto only exacerbated the situation as the civilians of Konoha, instead of thanking Naruto for holding back the fox demon for all these years, treated him as if he was the demon himself and didn't bother to disguise their anger and hatred towards him like they would on any other day.

Naruto sighed as he peered through his curtains to look upon Konoha on an unusually bright and sunny October day. The streets of the hidden village were crowded as people celebrated; the main roads clogged with stalls selling a multi-colored array of sweets, slabs of mouth-watering chocolate the size of bricks, brightly painted balloons and many other wondrous things. Naruto stared down in envy before dropping the curtain back in place and collapsing on the bed. He folded his arms behind him to cushion his head and he stared with boredom at the ceiling. He then proceeded to count the cracks on the ceiling.

Happy birthday indeed.

'Everything looks exactly the same.'

Namikaze Minato, known to the majority as the Yondaime Hokage, pushed through the bustling streets of Konoha. His assumption, at least concerning the current street he was on, was true. Other than the decorations and stalls set up specifically for the festivities nothing had changed in the eight years since he'd last walked down the largest street in the shopping district – it had been one of only sixteen streets to escape completely unharmed from the Kyuubi's attack.

Minato knew it was a dangerous risk walking so casually through Konoha. If he was recognized, even for a split second, there would most likely be a riot. After all he was supposed to be dead.

Anticipating this possibility Minato had cast an illusion jutsu around him so, instead of seeing the tall blue-eyed blonde haired man, people saw a small rather fat middle-aged man with beady black eyes permanently fixed in a squint. He had based the illusion around the typical greedy merchant; while stall owners might look upon him with suspicion, shinobi on patrol would dismiss him as one of many merchants hoping to get a bargain in the chaos of the Kyuubi festival.

After half an hour of aimless walking he rested on a bench and groaned quietly. Just where was Naruto? Minato had expected his son to be at the centre of the celebrations; if it wasn't for Naruto the village would no longer exist. But he had up and down the main thoroughfare of Konoha and couldn't find the boy. Frowning he stood up and ducked into a nearby alley.

Once he'd ensured that no one was watching he quickly did a summoning jutsu. When the smoke had cleared standing at the ninja's feet were half a dozen white mice with bright green eyes while perched on his shoulders were two bluebirds with the same bright green eyes as the mice. Minato pictured Naruto, an image of the last time he'd seen him floating to mind, and touched each animal in turn. As he did so the creature's eyes turned from green to purple.

"Find him," Minato said. Within seconds Minato was once again alone in the alley.

As he waited he pondered exactly why he was in Konoha. The most obvious excuse was to visit his son on his birthday, but he couldn't help but question his actions – after all, he had never visited his son before.

The Yondaime's thoughts were interrupted the rustling of a stack of abandoned boxes in a shadowy corner of the alley. He relaxed the fighting stance he'd automatically taken when saw the source of the noise was one of the summoned mice. Its eyes had turned back to green. The mouse had found Naruto.

Naruto was throwing balls of wet toilet paper at the ceiling, trying to make them stick, when he heard the knock at the door. Understandably cautious he padded towards the door and glanced through the peer-hole, expecting to see a kid with eggs ready to pelt him with eggs. Instead he saw an unfamiliar fat old man with weird beady eyes, like a huge bug. Frowning he slid back the bolts and opened the door a notch so the man could just make out a single blue eye and half a head of spiky blonde hair.

When Minato saw the familiar face of Naruto he had to resist the urge to force open the door and embrace him. When he had last met the boy he'd been foolish and had failed to realize he was his son until it was too late to do anything about it. Now he found himself only inches from the child it took all his willpower not to grab the boy and never let go.

"What do you want?" Naruto asked. Minato was unsurprised to see the suspicion that lingered in the only cerulean eye he could see.

"Can I come in?" he answered with a question.

"What for?" Naruto said sharply. Even the civilians must know he wasn't foolish enough to just let anyone enter his home.

"I have something for you," Minato said, suddenly aware how intimidating his illusions voice was. Oh why hadn't he picked a better illusion jutsu?

"Sorry, I'm not allowed to let anyone in," Naruto retorted, having a fair idea that whatever the man wanted to give him wouldn't be anything good. The man would probably attack as soon as he was inside.

When Naruto began to close the door Minato grabbed the edge, preventing him from moving it. Before he scared the boy to death Minato quickly released his illusion jutsu and said in his normal voice "Hey kid it's me!"

Naruto's suspicion instantly transformed into delight and he swung open the door, grabbed the man's hand and pulled him into the apartment.

"What are you doing here?" he questioned, practically shaking with excitement and surprise at seeing the man who had helped him nearly a year ago. Naruto had never forgotten about him. The man's oddly familiar appearance and remarkable selflessness had made him unforgettable.

"Well kid, I remembered you said it was your birthday October 10th and I had nothing better to do so here I am," Minato partly lied. In reality he'd been quite busy following a potential lead when he'd realized it was Naruto's birthday in less than a week. Now he had seen the boy he had been unable to treat the day as any other and had practically sprinted all the way to Konoha to make it in time.

"My name is Naruto, not kid," Naruto corrected the man.

"I know. Happy birthday Naruto," Minato said, swallowing as he tried to hide his delight at saying his son's name.

Naruto blinked slowly, as if confused, then grinned. Then, before Minato even realized Naruto had moved the boy was hugging him, clinging to waist with an iron grip. When he heard the boy quietly sobbing a fatherly instinct he didn't even know he had kicked in. He grabbed Naruto's shoulders and gently pushed him back so Minato could see his tear stained face. Bending down so he was at his son's level he wiped away the tears and ruffled the boy's hair affectionately.

"Why are you crying Naruto?" he enquired, praying it wasn't his fault.

"I don't know," Naruto replied, "I'm just really happy." He stared at the floor self-consciously.

At this Minato just laughed and exclaimed, in mock outrage, "But I haven't even given you your present yet!"

"Present?" Naruto said. He looked up with an excited gleam in his sky blue eyes.

"Of course," Minato said as he pulled a small green parcel from his robe. Although Naruto had the maturity of someone older than himself at heart he was still an eight year old so it was no surprise to Minato when the boy eagerly snatched the gift from his hands.

Naruto, determined to be polite even if he was longing to tear open the paper, read the card attached before opening it:

To Naruto Happy Birthday, Minato

"Minato? Is that your name?" Naruto questioned, curious.

"Yeah my name's Minato, but don't tell anyone that, okay Naruto?" Minato said, suddenly worried. No one in Konoha could learn he was alive. If they did the repercussions would be dreadful.

"Are we secret friends?" Naruto said, grinning cheekily at the thought of not only having a friend beyond the old man and the ramen chef and his daughter, but having a secret to keep with that friend too.

"That's right. Now open your present."

Naruto gladly obeyed and ripped open the present revealing a small box. Inside he discovered an expensive-looking gold disc on a golden chain. Carved on the disc were his initials.

Uzumaki Naruto.

Naruto silently fitted the chain around his neck then embraced the man opposite him once more.

"Thank you," he murmured into the man's robe.

"It's okay really, cost next to nothing," he tried but failed to cover his embarrassment.

"Thank you anyway."

"What, have you never got a present before?"

"The old man gets me board games, but I like yours best," Naruto said honestly, fingering the golden pendant around his neck.

"Oh" Minato said, gleeful at the thought that his son loved his present. He had no idea who the 'old man' might be, but felt that interrogating his son wasn't exactly appropriate when celebrating said sons birthday.

"So Naruto…what shall we do?" Minato said after several seconds of comfortable silence.

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked, frowning with bemusement.

"Well it's your birthday so we should do something, you know? Let's go out and join the celebrations. You know I'm sure I saw a stall just down the road selling sweets," Minato explained.

Naruto frowned and shaking his head said "I really don't want to go outside. Not today"

"Why not?"

"I don't like going out on," Naruto paused for a second, "my birthday. I prefer to stay in."

Minato easily caught the hesitation in his son's voice. He quickly put two and two together. Naruto obviously felt uncomfortable outside among the celebrations and surrounded by civilians. This thought led to another, more depressing realization. If his son thought he was unwelcome in his own village on what should have been his favorite day of the year there could only be one explanation; that Minato's last request that his son be treated as a hero had been ignored and he was instead treated like every other Jinchuuriki in existence – with hatred.

With these new realizations he had the sudden urge to grab his son and take him from the ignorant villagers. He hurriedly filed away this thought and, to distract himself, proceeded to explore the small apartment his son was living in. Naruto watched him nervously, awaiting the man's verdict on his home.

The apartment was quite small, consisting of only one room with a bathroom attached. It was simple and open plan, with one portion of the room serving as a kitchen with a refrigerator, a microwave and matching table and chairs while the other half was a bedroom with a single bed positioned next to the only window and a bedside cabinet. Above the bed was a framed picture depicting the sign of Konoha, the same sign that graced the headbands of Konohagakure's shinobi and kunouchi. The walls were painted a pale yellow and the floor was bare wood with a small rug beside the bed that matched the walls. It was surprisingly clean for a boy so young, though the bed was unmade.

Minato walked forward and made the bed, purely out of instinct. He had always been a 'clean freak' as Naruto's mother had kindly put it. Naruto watched dumbstruck as the man ensued to examine his home. Minato seemed to forget completely about him as he opened drawers and cupboards in the kitchen area, exploring every crevice like he was searching for something.

Eventually Naruto swallowed his nervousness and said shyly "Are you looking for something?" Minato jumped at his son's voice; he had, like Naruto suspected, got lost in the moment and forgotten the boy was there.

"Oh yes, I mean no. No, I'm not searching for anything, just looking," Minato said, shrugging his shoulders and blushing slightly as he realized how nosy he was being. He had no right to just invite himself in Naruto's home and scrutinize every last thing, even if he was his father. Though his nosiness couldn't be excused by him being Naruto's father since Naruto didn't know. Naruto probably thought him some meddlesome stranger lacking any manners at all.

Minato was about to apologize when there was a quiet knock on the door. His eyes shot open in panic at the thought of being discovered and he quickly redid his illusion jutsu. Naruto was confused at first at Minato's sudden change in appearance, and then remembered the man was supposed to be his 'secret friend'. Grinning mischievously Naruto winked at Minato's illusion jutsu, strode towards the door and pulled it open.

On the doorstep, looking as serene and friendly as always, stood the Third Hokage. Naruto smiled up at the old man and led him into the apartment where Minato was sat awkwardly at the kitchen table, Naruto all the while chatting merrily away about it being his birthday and he was already 8 years old, nearly fully grown-up.

The Third Hokage frowned suspiciously at the stranger sat at Naruto's table and said in a voice tight with mistrust "I see you already have a visitor Naruto. Please, introduce us."

"I'm just a friend of Naruto's," Minato answered before Naruto could then stood up. "I really ought to be going now Naruto."

"Going? Already?" Naruto said, obviously upset that the man was leaving so soon.

"Sorry kid. Got things to do," Minato said hurriedly. He had to get away from the Third Hokage as soon as possible. If anyone could guess he was the Yondaime it would be the man who had appointed him.

"Okay. Will you come back next year for my birthday?" Naruto asked hopefully.

"Sure," Minato lied. He knew now it had been a mistake to visit Naruto. It was just too risky. What if the Sandaime hadn't knocked and come straight in? He would have seen a man who was supposed to be dead and years of clever concealment would have been wasted. Though it pained him to admit it he had priorities more important than his son.

"Bye Naruto," he said, instinctively ruffling the child's blonde hair so like his own.

"Bye," Naruto whimpered sadly. Minato looked his son up and down, fixing the image permanently in his head, before he stumbled out the door and into the crowded streets.


	3. Chapter 3

Meeting Naruto

Chapter 3

"What's this?" Naruto questioned as he stared, puzzled, at the thick white scroll in his hands.

"Ninjutsu; rare ones," Minato said in explanation, ruffling Naruto's hair out of habit. It was Uzumaki Naruto's ninth birthday and, although he'd promised himself he wouldn't, Minato had come once again to visit and give him his birthday present.

"Really?" Naruto said excitedly.

"Yeah. There are instructions to help you learn them so it shouldn't take you longer than a few months to learn each one," Minato clarified as he sat on the bed, preferring the rather springy but comfortable mattress to the hard worn-down chairs positioned around the table.

"Thanks Minato," Naruto smiled at the man before sitting beside him and opening the scroll, feasting on the instructions and carefully drawn diagrams.

"_Final Wall Jutsu_…" he read aloud, frowning as he tried to decipher the faded ink.

"You should learn that one first. It'll help you in case any of the others backfire," Minato remarked as he pulled an apple from a pocket in his robe.

"How?"

"Well," Minato took a large bite of the apple and swallowed, not even bothering to chew, "Final Wall Jutsu is a defense jutsu. It moulds your chakra into a barrier which covers your entire body. Nothing can get through it. The only downside is that it uses an immense amount of chakra and can be extremely tiring." It used so much chakra in fact that had Minato not known that his son's reserves, as the son of Uzumaki Kushina, were probably almost as large as his own he would have never recommended the ninjutsu to the boy.

Naruto nodded as the older man explained, drinking in and memorizing everything he said. When he'd finished he said "How many jutsu's are there?"

"On the scroll? Three. They should keep you busy until your next birthday."

"Are you going to bring me more?" Naruto asked, excited at the thought of learning so many jutsu. He found the academy jutsu, particularly the bunshin, difficult to perform so was anxious to learn some awesome jutsu to impress his fellow students.

"If you want," Minato grinned down at the blonde-boy, once again ruffling his hair.

"I want lots and lots of jutsu," he half-screamed with enthusiasm, jumping up and down. "I'm going to be the best shinobi ever."

Minato suddenly placed his hand on Naruto's shoulder, stopping him from jumping, and said in a serious tone "Is that what you want to do? Be the best ninja in Konoha?"

"I've _got_ to be."

"Why?"

"If I'm not the best then I can't be Hokage."

"You want to be Hokage?"

"Yep. Uzumaki Naruto; Hokage," he said grinning. Minato grinned back and ruffled his hair. Naruto frowned and jumped up to ruffle the man's longer and wilder blonde hair. "Got you!" he laughed, tugging at Minato's hair.

"Oh really?" Minato said in a growling voice. Naruto was about to retort when Minato spun round and grabbed the boy's sides and dragged him down onto his back.

"Hey, what are - hah ha ha! No…ha…stop it…ha ha ha" Naruto said as Minato tickled him, breathless from laughing.

"Sorry I can't hear you?" Minato taunted as he continued to tickle his son.

"I said…ha ha ha… stop it!" Naruto giggled, twisting and turning on the bed as he tried to avoid the man's tickling fingers.

Minato abruptly stopped and pulled a face. He sensed someone's chakra approaching Naruto's front door. "I got to go now Naruto."

"Already?" he moaned, grabbing the man's arm.

"Yeah sorry. Don't worry I'll come again. Oh and Naruto?"

"Yeah?"

"Make sure no one sees you using those jutsu."

Naruto frowned in disappointment but reluctantly agreed.

Minato smiled and ruffled the boy's hair. "Bye Naruto." Before Naruto could say bye in return Minato had vanished in a puff of smoke.

"Minato! Did you bring more scrolls?"

"Nice to see you too," Minato laughed as Naruto took the scroll from his hand, eagerly opening it and reading it. It was Naruto's eleventh birthday. Two years had passed since he had first gifted him with the scroll of jutsu. Like he had promised, every year for a birthday present he'd given the boy a new scroll of jutsu and even watched him perform a few of them. Minato was proud to say that Naruto was every bit his and his mother's son.

"So how have you been? Learnt anything new at the academy?"

"Not really," Naruto pouted, "I had the graduation exam but I failed again."

Although Minato was sympathetic for his son's problems he couldn't help but feel happy that Naruto trusted him enough to tell him such things. He still remembered how paranoid and wary Naruto had been when he'd first met him – he was happy the boy had finally begun to trust him.

"The bunshin?" Minato questioned, aware of the difficulties his son had with that particular ninjutsu.

"...Yeah. I still can't do it."

"Hmm... why not use the kage bunshin instead?"

"What?"

"It's on that scroll," he pointed at the one Naruto still held, "It's like a bunshin except it's solid." Minato considered telling his son of the other advantage to kage bunshin – the transference of a kage bunshins memory when it's destroyed – but decided to wait until Naruto was older before telling him. If he knew his son the boy would immediately strain his mind by attempting the specialised kage bunshin training.

"Awesome!" Naruto grinned.

Minato, amused by his sons enthusiasm, laughed and went to ruffle Naruto's hair. Naruto ducked out of the way of the man's hand and laughed, jumping up and pulling at the man's hair.

"You never change do you?" Minato chortled, twisting around and grabbing his son.

"Hey! Don't tickle me again!" Naruto swiftly dodged the man's outstretching arms. The pair had been doing the same routine since Naruto's ninth birthday, with Naruto pulling at Minato's hair then Minato tickling him in revenge.

"You're growing up Naruto," Minato suddenly said, his voice solemn; shattering the cheerful atmosphere.

"I know," Naruto said, picking up on the sudden change of mood. "Are you still going to come visit me? You know, when I'm older?"

"Of course Naruto," Minato said and he ruffled the boy's hair. Naruto let him do it. He found it oddly comforting.

"What if I'm on a super awesome mission for my birthday?" Naruto exclaimed, somehow managing to make even 'super awesome' sound glum.

"Then I'll find you."

"Really?"

"Really," Minato assured him.

Naruto grinned and hugged the man's waist, murmuring into his robe "You're my best friend."

Minato sighed. Should he tell him he was much more than his best friend; that he was his father? He would have to tell him someday.

Minato opened his mouth…and closed it. He shook his head. He just couldn't. What if Naruto didn't take it well? What if he'd never want to see him again? He couldn't risk it.

"And you're my best friend too," Minato said, stroking Naruto's soft hair; seeking as much comfort from the boy as the boy was seeking from him.


	4. Chapter 4

The sun rose on a particularly chilly 10th of October, its bright early morning rays coating the village of Konoha in the beautiful light of dawn. However, almost as if to mock the brightness of the sun and blueness of the sky, the day was as cold as winter with the breaths of early risers turning to mist in the air as they walked along.

Minato blew on the palms of his hands then rubbed them together, for once glad of the oversized heavy brown cloak he had to don in order to stay unrecognised. It had been exactly a year since Minato had lasted visited Uzumaki Naruto. Once again it was the blonde's birthday and Minato was impatient to see his shinobi son.

Yes, his son was now a shinobi; a genin. He knew because, whenever he was feeling particularly downhearted, he used a scrying jutsu to check up on his sons progress. While Minato was happy his son was getting closer to his goal, he couldn't help but think that having a genin son made him seem extremely old, even if he was only in his thirties.

"I'll be in my mid-life crisis soon," he mumbled angrily to himself as he stomped up the steps that led to Naruto's apartment. Knocking on the door Minato pouted when his son still hadn't answered after several minutes. Was he still asleep?

Slowly, careful not to make a sound, Minato pick-locked the door and crept in. As he softly closed the door behind him he was enveloped in darkness. Cursing as he tripped over the rug he flicked on the light switch and was momentarily blinded by the sudden brightness.

When his vision had finally cleared he glanced towards the bed and frowned when he saw it was empty. Where was Naruto? He was about to search the bathroom when he saw the note on the kitchen side; the writing a haphazard scrawl as if Naruto had been in a hurry. Weary, Minato opened it slowly and read the script:

Dear M

Gone on a mission

Don't know when I'll be back

See you next year

Naruto

"Next year?" Minato said faintly, his chest giving a painful pang at the thought of having to wait another twelve months to see his son. He frowned and reread the letter several times before neatly folding it up and sliding it into the inside pocket of his cloak, beside Naruto's birthday present.

As his fingers brushed against the carefully wrapped parcel his chest gave another painful pang.

"This just won't do," he said in reply to the longing to see his son that had consumed him. There was a determined glint in his eyes.

"Hey dobe," Uchiha Sasuke called up from the bottom of the tree, eying his team mate who was perched on a branch, his face hidden in shadow. 'Dobe' didn't respond.

"Dobe!" Sasuke shouted, his face contorting in anger at being ignored. "Hey Naruto!" Sasuke yelled, scaling the tree in a matter of seconds and moving so he was kneeling on the same branch as Naruto.

As his name was called Naruto suddenly looked up and stared into the black depths that were Sasuke's eyes. "What do you want?" Naruto asked, not even bothering to add the extra 'baka' or 'bastard' that he usually treated Sasuke to.

Taken aback by Naruto abruptness and the fact Naruto hadn't insulted him; Sasuke had trouble hiding the surprise he felt. "Why didn't you answer dobe?" Sasuke said, once he'd ensured his voice was the usual emotionless drawl he'd perfected over the years.

"I didn't hear you," Naruto replied and in one swift movement he jumped from the tree and after a fifteen foot drop landed silently on his feet. Sasuke for the second time in only minutes was surprised by Naruto, the blonde boy's agility and gracefulness leaving him more than shocked. When had Naruto become so…well…stealthy?

Stealthy. That was the only word Sasuke could think of to describe Naruto's quick agile movements. Naruto was stealthy. Even the thought made him want to laugh out loud. He'd never thought Naruto and the word 'stealthy' would be in the same sentence, never mind the same dimension, what with Naruto's bright orange jumpsuit he insisted on always wearing and his loud boisterous voice which could travel for miles without fading.

"Sasuke, you coming down or not?" Naruto said, dragging Sasuke from his silent musings. Sasuke snarled angrily at Naruto before jumping from the tree, scolding himself at the noise he made when he landed. Naruto hadn't made any noise at all though it was obvious the blonde boy weighed much more than him, even if he was smaller.

"What did you want anyway?" Naruto questioned as the pair began to make their way to the camp Team 7 had constructed.

"Kakashi-sensei told me to come get you," Sasuke said in explanation, not bothering to look at Naruto as he spoke. Sasuke only realised Naruto had stopped walking when he was a good three metres away.

"Dobe?" Sasuke said uncertainly, frowning. Naruto was frozen to the spot, his brow creased in concentration and his eyes wide with an emotion Sasuke couldn't quite place.

"Dobe?" Sasuke repeated when Naruto didn't answer.

"You go on ahead Sasuke, I…umm…need to take a leak," Naruto said, grabbing his pants as if to prove it to the puzzled Uchiha.

Sasuke clicked his tongue in annoyance and stalked into the nearby bushes towards the camp. However, once he was sure Naruto was fooled; he turned back around and hid behind a tree not too far away from Naruto. Naruto was hiding something, he was sure of it.

Meanwhile Naruto had moved from his previous position and into a fighting stance, his eyes darting around him. For a second he'd been sure he had sensed someone nearby. Whoever they were they were intelligent enough to be using a jutsu to conceal their chakra from the nearby campers. He tensed his muscles in preparation.

Sasuke watched Naruto move into a fighting position, wondering what on earth the boy was doing. There was no enemy- not that he could sense. Could Naruto have better senses than him? No, impossible. The dobe was probably mistaking a squirrel or something for a threat. Sasuke, seeing an opportunity to scare Naruto, was about to pounce from the bushes when Naruto suddenly dropped his fighting stance and his eyes opened in obvious shock.

"It can't be…" Sasuke heard Naruto mutter, before hesitantly calling out "Minato…?"

The man appeared so quickly Sasuke didn't even see him move. In an instant he was stood barely a metre away from Naruto. He was tall, about the same size as Kakashi, but a brown travelling cloak hid any distinguishing features from view. Sasuke still pulled the kunai from the pouch at his belt, ready to attack if he even touched Naruto. A part of him wondered why he suddenly felt the need to protect the annoying blonde but he decided he only wanted to save himself the trouble of telling his sensei he'd let a strange man kill Naruto without even trying to stop him. Sasuke's worries, however, soon proved unfounded.

"Minato!" Naruto exclaimed as he raced forward and embraced the man in spine-crushing hug The man chuckled, ruffled Naruto's hair and said "Happy birthday Naruto."

Sasuke frowned - it was Naruto's birthday today?

"You found me. I don't believe it," Naruto said after he pulled away from the man.

"Of course I did Naruto, I promised remember?" the man explained. Then, almost as if it was an afterthought, he added "And I also wanted to give you this." Suddenly the man had a brown paper package in his hands. Naruto grinned and took it from him, slowly opening the paper to reveal what was hidden inside.

Almost as curious as Naruto, Sasuke leaned forward to try and get a closer look at what he guessed was a birthday present for the dobe. After many minutes of slow unwrapping Naruto was holding a white box. He lifted the lid with one hand and pulled out a thick scroll tied in a blue silk thread (Naruto grinned knowingly as he held the scroll) and a large white feather.

"A feather?" Naruto said, bemused.

"It's no ordinary feather," Minato said knowingly. He leant forward and whispered something in Naruto's ear. Naruto's eyes opened wide and he stared in awe at the feather in his hand.

"Amazing…" he murmured, then grinned mischievously. "Thanks Minato, you're the best friend ever."

Several minutes passed with Sasuke secretly watching the pair interact, Naruto putting his gift away and tucking it into his baggy jumpsuit while the man Naruto called Minato leant against a tree and began to ask him questions about how Naruto was doing.

Sasuke listened intently when Naruto spoke of team seven and noted that the mans voice semed to hold a surprised tone when Naruto told him Kakashi was their sensei. He was unsurprised to hear Naruto praise Sakura, but was slightly shocked when the blonde admitted that he thought she wasn't a very kunoichi. Naruto went on to tell the man of Kakashi and his perverted books, but it was when the man asked about himself that Sasuke really paid attention.

"Sasuke? He's just as annoying as he was in the academy, still calling me dobe. It's funny though, I enjoy arguing with him. He's good at it," Naruto laughed at this statement, but suddenly stopped and his face turned solemn, "But he's so serious all the time. I feel kind of sorry for him... he's all alone. He's an orphan like me."

"You're not alone Naruto," the man replied, "You'll always have me."

Naruto beamed at the man but still ducked, laughing, when he tried to rumple his hair.

Sasuke was rooted to the spot with astonishment. Naruto felt _sorry_ for him? Since when did Naruto feel anything but hatred for his so-called rival?

Sasuke's thoughts were soon interrupted though when he heard Minato say "Someone's coming."

Sasuke frowned, upset that even with all his training he'd allowed his emotions to control him and had forgot to focus on his surroundings. Minato was right. Kakashi-sensei was coming their way, obviously tired of waiting for Sasuke and Naruto to return.

"You got to go, right?" Naruto said his voice laced with misery.

"That's right," Minato said, trying to smile but finding it impossible.

"Well, I'll see you next year then," Naruto murmured as he hugged the man one last time.

"Yeah," Naruto released him and Minato ruffled his hair, "Bye kid."

Then Minato, as quick as he'd appeared, vanished.


	5. Chapter 5

"Moving Shadow no jutsu!" Naruto called out as he locked his fingers into the final hand sign.

There was a strange tearing noise as his shadow ripped itself from Naruto's feet and swirled into an upright tornado of a strange black mist directly in front of Naruto. Gradually, the mist settled and formed into the shape of a young boy.

Although the shadow was now as real as Naruto it was obvious it was a result of a jutsu. The shadows body was built entirely of black smoke and strange veins purple veins could be seen through its thin transparent skin. The shadow had no face, just two swirling pools of purple light where its eyes should be.

"Hello again," Naruto said cheerfully as he patted his shadow on its shoulder. He purposefully ignoring the thin tendrils of black smoke that crawled up his fingers as the shadow tried to reattach itself to Naruto. The shadow just nodded its head in reply but Naruto liked to think if it had a mouth it would have said hello too.

"So you ready?" The shadow again nodded and Naruto grinned. As a black kunai appeared in the shadows hand Naruto jumped backwards, landing in a fighting stance several feet from the shadow with a silver kunai ready in his clutches. The pair faced off for several seconds of pre-battle silence, only broken by the chirping of birds and the whistling of the breeze through the trees that surrounded the clearing.

As Naruto lunged forward the fight began. The shadow dodged as Naruto aimed with the kunai, moving so it was positioned directly behind the blonde-haired ninja. Naruto swiftly rid the shadow of its advantage by crouching down and swinging his foot under the shadows legs. The shadow fell to the floor without a noise and when Naruto pounced rolled over, pushing itself to its knees and throwing its black kunai at Naruto. Naruto ducked and grabbed the shadows front, dragging the shadow down and kneeing it effectively in the face. The shadows head was nothing but black smoke before it reformed. Naruto released the shadow, knowing he had won the first bout. They both somersaulted to opposite sides of the clearing. Naruto lunged once more and the fight began again.

Both moved with eerie grace and speed, each movement quick and efficient. The pair fought for an hour with Naruto winning the most bouts. Naruto regularly sparred with the 'Walking Shadow' to test himself. He knew he could use kage bunshin instead, but the Shadow was harder to destroy. He only used kage bunshin when he was practicing fighting off many opponents simultaneously.

After the spar Naruto replaced his kunai in his pouch and pulled a thick white scroll tied with a blue ribbon from the depths of his jumpsuit. He placed it on the ground and opened it at the jutsu he was having the most trouble with.

Naruto nodded in acknowledgement at the shadow, which was perched on a rock and watching Naruto, before performing the complex hand seals. After several minutes of twisting and turning his fingers into awkward uncomfortable patterns Naruto shouted "Fire element: Consume."

Almost immediately Naruto's body was set alight as fire covered every inch of his skin. Although the fire appeared to be over eight-hundred degrees in temperature, Naruto felt nothing except ticklish tingles on his skin. Knowing he couldn't keep this jutsu up for long without suffering severe burns Naruto pointed to an isolated tree and shouted something incoherent. In reply to his movements a wave of fire erupted from his hand and shot at the tree, incinerating it in seconds. Grinning triumphantly Naruto released the jutsu.

"Not bad eh?" Naruto said. The shadow, as usual, didn't answer.

"Think I might have to get you a mouth," Naruto muttered as he grabbed the shadows hand. The shadows body instantly became black smoke once more and began to climb up Naruto's arm, then down his body until it was a pool at his feet. The pool morphed back into Naruto's shadow and to check the shadow was completely reattached Naruto shook his foot in the air. He was pleased to see the shadow replicate his movements exactly.

Naruto retrieved the scroll from the ground and retied the ribbon. He held the scroll for several seconds, stroking the aging paper, then sighed. He admitted it. He missed Minato. It had only been two months since Naruto had seen Minato, yet he missed the man terribly. Minato was the only person who Naruto could truly be open with. Everyone else he knew thought he was a clumsy idiot who couldn't even perform a simple jutsu without messing it up. Although it was partly Naruto's fault his friends thought that of him since he himself had spent many years constructing the mask of idiocy that surrounded him, it still made Naruto feel intolerably lonely.

Sighing again Naruto dragged himself from his thoughts and left the clearing, pushing through the trees until he found himself at small slow-flowing river. Shrugging off his clothes he jumped in, scrubbing the sweat and grime gained from a day of training off his tanned skin. After several minutes Naruto just lay in the cool water, emptying his mind of his worries as he tried to relax.

However, as soon as he emptied his mind, images of Minato surfaced unbidden and an aching loneliness filled his chest. Finally admitting he couldn't wait another ten months to see his best friend, and curious to know what Minato did when he wasn't visiting Naruto, Naruto executed a Scrying jutsu he's learnt from the new scroll – unknowingly the same jutsu that Minato regularly used to check up on him.

Instantaneously the water began to fog like a mirror once breathed on, and an image began to appear. Once the image had cleared sufficiently Naruto could see the familiar face of Minato. The jutsu only allowed him to see his face so Naruto's curiosity at what Minato was doing remained unquenched. However Naruto burst into laughter as a bottle of sake appeared at Minato's lips and the man gulped it down. Obviously the man was in a bar somewhere. But why was he in a bar in the middle of the day? Naruto frowned and glanced up at the sky and was shocked to see it was almost dark. Immediately releasing the jutsu Naruto jumped out of the river and threw on his clothes, hoping he wasn't going to be late for his meeting with Iruka-sensei.

Minato replaced the glass of sake on the side of the bar, sighing in relief as his troubled thoughts dissipated under the influence of the alcohol. Although he was missing Naruto, more urgent and troubling thoughts were filling his head.

EARLIER THAT DAY

"Hi, I'm looking for a man going by the name of Myoki Ishim?" Minato was stood on the doorstep of a small cottage just outside the town he was staying in. The man who had answered the door in reply to his knocking was old, his long grey hair tied up in a bun behind his head.

"And you would be?" he said, looking Minato up and down.

"I'm just a man after certain information I happen to know Myoki-san possesses," Minato replied, unwilling to give away his name.

"A dangerous man?" the old man questioned sharply, a frown gracing his furrowed face.

"Only when in danger," Minato responded, choosing his words carefully. The man stood for several seconds as he contemplated Minato, before turning round and heading back into the house, calling over his shoulder "You better come in then."

Minato quickly entered the house and closed the door, wincing as it creaked loudly. He took in the shabby carpets and cracked walls of the cottage as he followed the old man into a small room stuffed with books and several cushioned chairs. It was obviously serving as a study of some sorts. The old man relaxed into a chair beside the window and indicated Minato should sit in the chair opposite, which he did. The man then cracked his fingers one by one (a nasty habit, Minato thought). After he'd finished this task he said in a gruff tone laced with impatience "So what do you want?"

"Are you Myoki-san?"

"That is me," Myoki said, nodding his head in assent.

"The same legendary demon-hunter Myoki?" Minato inquired, raising his eyebrows almost as if he was challenging the man.

Myoki, whose eyes had lit up once the word demon was mentioned, like a small child's does when talking of a favourite toy, nodded once more and said "I am that Myoki."

"First of all I would like to say it is an honour to meet a hunter as respected and accomplished as you," Myoki smiled in acknowledgement of the flattery and Minato continued. "Secondly, I have to ask you if you know of a certain clan of demons."

"Which one?" Myoki said, "I know of many." He waved his hand in the direction of the many books that surrounded them.

"The kitsune family," Minato said. Myoki frowned as the family's name was spoken and settled comfortably into his chair, entwining his fingers as if he was pondering on something of vast importance.

"I know much of that family of demons," he said at last, "It was one among them, Marhi, who gave me this scar." As he spoke he pulled up a sleeve of his robe, revealing a long white scar – it had obviously been very deep before it had healed.

"Marhi?" Minato said, as the man rolled down his sleeve, effectively covering the mark of the demon.

"Yes. Marhi, one of the most cunning kitsune demons to ever exist. Tell me, how much do you know of the kitsune family?"

"Only that they are difficult to track. I need to know more; please, it's extremely important."

Myoki's brow furrowed as he considered Minato's request, but he slowly nodded his head in agreement and told of his knowledge.

"The kitsune clan is, like the name suggests, a clan of kitsune demons. Unlike ordinary kitsune, these are beings of pure chakra. They are cunning, manipulative and mischievous demons who are tricky to catch and trickier to kill. There have never been many kitsune demons, ever since the kitsune wars.

"What do you mean?" Minato interrupted. Myoki glared at him before he continued.

"The kitsune wars happened over a hundred years ago and are the reason why kitsune demons are rarely seen in packs. The kitsune clan, before the wars, were ruled by the two strongest; Akudoi and Rokai. They were partners and the ruled the kitsune clan for many years. Then, one day, another kitsune demon appeared. Akudoi and Rokai had heard of him, but he'd never before contacted the kitsune clan. He was the Kyuubi; the strongest of the bijou. Kyuubi was immensely powerful and claimed leadership of the kitsunes. When Akudoi tried to resist she was destroyed. Rokai fled. Kyuubi remained leader until his defeat twelve years ago, although he frequently disappeared for years at a time. The kitsune clan, with Kyuubi gone , are leaderless and have been slowly declining in power and numbers ever since the nine-tails defeat."

"What about Rokai?" Minato asked.

"No one knows what became of Rokai. Many have tried to find him and kill him, to prove they are the best demon-hunter, but all have failed."

"Do you have any clue where Rokai might be?" Minato said his eyes wide in anticipation and his fingers mentally crossed in hope.

"Why do you ask stranger? Do you seek to kill Rokai like countless other men?"

"Yes I do. But only to save someone close to me," Minato explained.

"Tell me more, and I will tell you of what I know of Rokai," Myoki bargained, curiosity getting the best of him.

"It is quite simple really. I know that Kyuubi, against popular belief, is not dead. He is sealed away in the body of a young boy. This boy is very precious to me, and years ago, when I was recovering from an illness in a land far to the south, I heard rumours of a demon intent on finding and destroying the Kyuubi. I think that this demon is Rokai. It is my aim to find Rokai and kill him before he can discover that the Kyuubi is still alive and try to get to Kyuubi by harming the boy."

"I thought so," Myoki grinned crookedly, "I know much of demons, and I knew that no mortal man, famed shinobi or not, could have killed the Kyuubi no Kitsune. I had suspicions that the Kyuubi is sealed within a jinchuuriki, and now your words prove them true. You are right, stranger, in assuming that Rokai will target this jinchuuriki in order to get his revenge."

"So will you help me?"

"Unfortunately I can assist you no more. However there is a man by the name of Iho who might be able to help you. He lives in a town called Nonko in the Land of the Wind. Go to him and he will tell you all he knows of Rokai."

Five minutes later Minato left Myoki's cottage and headed towards Nonko, his mind full of his son Naruto and what could happen if he failed in his self-appointed mission.


	6. Chapter 6

"What's in it for me?"

Minato hesitated, then pulled a small bag from his cloak. He dropped it on the counter with a clunk. Iho eyed the bag appreciatively, then wiped his blackened hands on a conveniently placed rag. His hands now clean he picked up the bag in one hand and a block of iron in the other. Weighing them up he nodded before pocketing the money, then said in a gruff voice "Give me a minute." He disappeared behind a dirty curtain.

Minato stared for a second at the curtain that Iho had disappeared under, before allowing his gaze to wander to his surroundings.

He was stood in a small room built of large stones black with grime and, judging by the small furnace in a corner of the room, years of smoke-filled air. Fortunately for Minato the furnace wasn't currently in use – he did not think he could handle the stench of the thick smoke. Hanging on the walls were several faded squares of cloth, which Minato guessed must have once been tapestries, and hammered straight into the thick blocks of stone were some large iron nails which held several grimy aprons and cloaks. Against one wall was leant several strangely curving swords and axes; weapons Minato had never seen before. The floor was the same stone as the walls and also black, except in some places it was covered in rugs of fur splattered with black stains and footprints. Beside the furnace was a pile of coal, and beside that stacks of iron cubes. Minato glanced at the spot where Iho had been standing when he'd first entered, and saw shelves of different sized hammers. Putting two and two together, Minato concluded that the man, Iho, was producing something, most likely the oddly curved weapons.

Minato was about to take a closer look at the weapons when Iho's voice called out to him "You can come through."

Minato frowned as he ducked under the curtain. He immediately found himself in a large kitchen area, its white walls and spotless floor in complete contrast to the room he'd just exited. Iho was sat at the kitchen table holding a large mug of a steaming black broth, all traces of grime gone from his clothes and body. He indicated Minato should sit, so Minato pulled up a chair opposite the man.

Iho took a large drag of the broth, before saying "What do you want to know?"

"I want to know everything you know about the demon Rokai," Minato said, examining the man opposite, looking for a response to the name but seeing none.

"Rokai eh?" he took another mouthful of broth, "He's a bad one alright. He's clever and a demon, and that makes him dangerous."

"Dangerous?"

"Yes, he's probably the most dangerous demon out there, now that Kyuubi is sealed away in that boy," Minato tried not to look surprised that Iho knew of Naruto, but it must've shown since he said "Yeah I know about that. I know everything about every demon out there. Let's just say it's a talent I have. Now, about Rokai, he's clever. Very clever."

"What exactly do you mean?" Minato said, getting impatient.

"What I mean is that Rokai when faced with the problem of shinobi after his blood, instead of destroying these shinobi by the hundreds like other demons, he _learnt_ from them."

"Learnt from them?" Minato questioned, worry as well as confusion in his voice.

"That's right. You see, Rokai isn't very strong compared to...let's say... Akodoi before Kyuubi killed her. However he's incredibly smart. Rokai, after the kitsune wars, fled to the far south and it was while he was there that a shinobi attacked him. Now we all know shinobi can use jutsu, which allow them to use their chakra to enhance their bodies potential, create weapons or defend themselves. Rokai was very intrigued when the shinobi that attacked him used a jutsu, so the demon caught the shinobi and had a good look at the man's chakra. Then, after several failed attempts, Rokai successfully moulded his spirit into the man's chakra."

"Moulded his spirit? I don't understand," Minato exclaimed, his brow creased in confusion.

"It's simple really. Kind of like how Kyuubi's spirit is sealed inside a human boy, except in Rokai's case he isn't sealed, and instead of being in the person's body he's hidden inside the persons chakra."

"But…That means he could be anywhere.."

"Pretty much. Rokai could be anywhere. Rokai could be _anyone._"

"Sasuke-kun!"

Sasuke looked over his shoulder to see Sakura running towards him, her hands open as if to embrace him. He frowned, annoyed. He'd been planning on finding Naruto, to confront him about the man he'd met in the forest several months ago, but now it seemed he'd have to spend another day avoiding Sakura.

"Sasuke-kun! Sasuke-kun!" she chanted his name as she approached. Sasuke visibly grimaced, then jumped onto the roof of the nearest building. Taking advantage of Sakura's momentary shock, he fled towards the forest on the outskirts of the village, thinking he could do some training before Sakura found him again.

Half an hour later Sasuke was stood in a clearing, throwing kunai with deadly precision at a tree about fifteen feet away. Then, deciding he'd had enough, he began his daily routine of somersaults and flexes. Once, Sasuke would've restricted his training to exercises that simply built up his strength, but after seeing how swift and silent Naruto had become, he'd changed his routine to fit in exercises in silence and flexibility, certain he would become better than Naruto if he trained hard enough.

Of course, Sasuke was unaware that at the exact same moment at the other side of the forest Naruto was practising jutsu's far more complex than any Sasuke currently knew. If he had known, no doubt he would train twice as hard.

After twenty minutes of somersaults and flexes, Sasuke sat on the floor with a sigh. He closed his eyes and laid down, wondering if he could catch a few hours sleep before Sakura undoubtedly found him, since Sakura always _did_ find him, no matter where he went. He didn't mind admitting that sometimes the pink-haired girl's attention and stalking worried him to the point of being down-right terrifying.

Many minutes passed with Sasuke slowly drifting into a dreamless sleep, when he suddenly heard a twig snap. He stumbled into a fighting stance, ready for an attack. There was silence for several seconds, but it was interrupted by the threatening growl of a predator after its next meal.

Sasuke's eyes darted around, searching for the source. He didn't have to look long though as a large black wolf jumped from the bushes and landed not three feet away from the black-haired genin. The wolf eyed Sasuke, then growled again, bending his back legs and preparing to pounce. Sasuke pulled a kunai from his pouch, ready to defend himself, trying to ignore the fact that the wolf was almost twice his size.

The wolf grinned manically then leant back, ready to rip his prey limb from limb. Then, suddenly, he stopped. His face moved into what can only be described as a puzzled expression. The wolf sniffed the air around Sasuke, then suddenly whimpered before running away.

Sasuke frowned and replaced the kunai, wondering what scared the wolf. Shaking his head at the idiocy of animals he headed back towards the village, hoping Sakura wasn't waiting at the gate for him like she was the day before. Sasuke was so preoccupied with his thoughts that he failed to notice his shadow slowly morphing back from the shadow of a large fox into its normal shape.


	7. Chapter 7

_A Ninja's Guide to Taijutsu Techniques_

Uzumaki Naruto eyed the title then quickly pulled the book from the shelf. The book was a hardback; the front made of a sleek and varnished wood. He quickly flicked through the pages, his lips unconsciously turning up into a gleeful smile as he saw the detailed diagrams and instructions that the book held. Grinning triumphantly he glanced at the price tag and felt his heart plummet into his stomach. He could afford it- but only just. Nearly all his savings would be gone.

He peeked inside the book again and decided it was worth it. He walked up to the counter and gave the book to the man, who smiled at him as he plopped his frog-purse, which was bulging with money, onto the counter. Naruto smiled back and tried to forget how the same man had once spat on him in the streets and how the man would probably refuse to serve him if he knew who he was.

The man didn't recognise Naruto at that moment for one simple reason. Naruto was using his very own illusion jutsu. The man, who hated Uzumaki Naruto, was currently selling a book to a tall, brown haired green eyed teenager in simple clothing. Naruto was particularly proud that he'd mastered the illusion jutsu well enough to be able to create a completely new person from his imagination alone.

Naruto took the book and his change from the man and left the shop, trying desperately not to think about how he'd afford to buy ramen that night. He grimaced at his empty wallet. He would have loaned a scroll on taijutsu's from the library and got it free, but illusion jutsu didn't have a library card and you needed to supply an address in order to get one, thus he had decided he would simply buy any scrolls and books he needed from the bookstore.

Naruto glared at his bare frog shaped purse, before shoving it into his back pocket and heading off towards the forest at the edge of Konoha.

Fifteen minutes later Naruto was sat cross-legged in the centre of his favourite clearing, the book open before him and a look of both concentration and fascination on his face as he read the first chapter. He was no longer in his illusion jutsu and his bright blue eyes were wide with excitement and anticipation. He was certain if he read the entire book and followed the instructions, and of course added his own 'Uzumaki flair', he'd learn perfect taijutsu.

For Naruto to be focusing on his taijutsu was odd, as Naruto preferred ninjutsu since it allowed him to take advantage of his huge amount of chakra. That day, however, Naruto was concentrating completely on improving his taijutsu, simply because of what had happened the day before.

-FLASHBACK-

"Kakashi-sensei! You're late!"

"Hn..."

Even Sasuke's usual 'hn' managed to sound annoyed as Kakashi appeared in a puff of smoke on the bridge that team 7 met at every day. He was over two hours late. It was three times smaller than his record lateness, but nonetheless his students were more than displeased at the laziness of their sensei.

"I'm sorry, but on the way here I met a little old lady who'd lost her pet turtle while she was walking on the journey of life, and I offered to find-"

"Save it!" Sakura yelled, her hands on her hips and a vein pulsing in her forehead in anger. Kakashi held his hands up in surrender, then realised with a start that a voice was missing from the usual aggravated yells he received whenever he was late. Dropping his hands, he stared in Naruto's direction to see the blonde teen staring at the floor with the look of someone in deep thought plastered on his face. Sakura, who had noticed the absence of Naruto's voice at the same time as Kakashi, stared with eyes overly large in disbelief at her subdued teammate, and even the usually emotionless Sasuke couldn't keep the surprise from his gaze.

After several moments of awkward silence, Kakashi said "Naruto...?"

Naruto's head snapped up with an audible crack, and his bright blue eyes widened like a deer caught in headlights. There was a second of silence before Naruto grinned and sheepishly replied "Sorry about that, I zoned out for a second."

"_You _zoned out?" Sakura said incredulously.

"Yeah I was thinking," Naruto explained, rubbing the back of his head guiltily.

"What were you thinking about?" Kakashi questioned, curious to know the source of Naruto's abnormal behaviour.

Naruto's smile immediately changed to a frown and the look of concentration graced his features once again, before he quietly mumbled "The chunin exams."

Although Kakashi's expression didn't change, he was shocked at Naruto's response. How did Naruto know about the chunin exams? Who could have told him, when Kakashi himself had only found out about them that very morning?

"What are the chunin exams?" Sakura asked Kakashi, her large forehead creased in confusion.

"They're tests genin take which allow them to advance to the next level and become chunin. Every few years a hidden village will host a chunin exam, and genins from all over will come to participate with hopes of becoming chunins," Kakashi clarified, though his eyes never left Naruto's face.

"So the Sand nin we saw earlier have come for the chunin exams?" Sasuke unexpectedly joined the conversation. At the mention of shinobi from the sand, Naruto's thoughts steered away from the chunin exams and in his mind he saw the image of an odd looking red-head wearing a huge gourd on his back...Gaara. A boy that seemed somehow familiar to Naruto, but whose eyes made him shiver. He, Sakura and Sasuke had met Gaara and his two teammates, Kankuro and Temari, on the way to their meeting with Kakashi. Gaara had made an appearance just in time to stop Kankuro from beating the Hokage's grandson Konohamaru to a pulp.

"Most likely," Kakashi said. He was about to question Naruto about how he knew about the chunin exams when Naruto suddenly said "Are you entering team 7?"

Kakashi hesitated for only a second, before he said "Yes."

-END FLASHBACK-

So Naruto was going to enter the chunin exams along with the other two members of team 7. Naruto knew the extensive knowledge of jutsu he'd gained from the scrolls Minato had given him meant he could pass the chunin exam. However, he still remembered the promise he'd made to Minato all those years ago, the promise that he'd never allow anyone to see him perform the jutsu from the scrolls. So, to make up for not being able to use his strongest weapons, Naruto had decided he would improve his taijutsu.

That was why Naruto was at that moment completely engrossed in the book on the different taijutsu techniques. Naruto was searching for a technique to suit him specifically, preferably one that allowed him to use his abnormally large amount of chakra to its full potential and also inflicted as much damage to the opponent as possible.

After about half an hour of page-flicking, Naruto found the perfect jutsu.

Heavy Fist no jutsu.

From the description and diagrams the jutsu seemed to be mixture between street fighting and a professional style. It included quick, efficient movements to avoid strikes and get under the enemy's guard followed by fast, strong hits to the enemy's torso using only the arms and hands. It mainly focused on arm movements, but the user needed quick reflexes overall to dodge attacks since the jutsu was practically useless for defence.

It was ideal for Naruto because, not only was it similar to the brawl-like taijutsu he currently used, but it suited his large chakra since continuous dodging and giving hard hits used much more energy than average taijustu styles. He knew he could use his chakra to continually replenish his energy supplies, thus it was perfect for him.

Naruto bent over the book and read step 1.

_Step 1: Before you can start practising this style of taijutsu, you must first ensure you can fight comfortably and effectively using just your arms and/or hands. This can include elbow strikes, punches, hand chops etc. Practise this style of fighting. _

Naruto nodded, and then jumped to his feet. Directing his attacks at a training log he began to train, practising his attacks like the book suggested.

Several hours later Naruto was laid on the floor of the clearing. He was exhausted and sweat coated him like a second skin. Above him the perfect blue sky had transformed into angry grey and black clouds. A strong wind blew through the trees, shaking birds from their nests, their angry squawks echoing through the otherwise silent forest.

Naruto knew what the silence meant. He'd spent enough time training in the woods to recognise it as the silence left behind as the animals of the forest hid in their homes under the ground or in the sheltered treetops. A storm was only seconds away.

Naruto closed his eyes when the first raindrop hit his tanned whiskered cheek. This was immediately followed by another raindrop, and then another, until it seemed a waterfall was pouring from the heavens and the raindrops were so heavy they stung his skin.

Naruto slowly stood up, his already drenched clothes weighing him down. He quickly grabbed the book and slid it under his jacket, where the rain couldn't damage it. He wrapped one arm around his chest to hold the book in place.

Naruto took a deep breath, enjoying the feel of the rain trickling down his skin and cleaning the grime and sweat from his body, before he jumped into the treetops.

He moved fast, focusing chakra to his feet to increase his speed. He wanted to get home as quickly as possible, so there was less chance of his book getting wet and the ink running. As he approached Konoha he jumped over the wall, smiling his trademark grin at the guards (who looked miserable with their sopping clothes and their dripping hair), and headed towards his apartment.

After several minutes of jumping and running, he reached the bottom of the stairs that led to his door. He charged up them and was about to pull his keys from his jacket pocket when he realised with a start that the door was already open.

It was only open a crack, so a sliver of light shone onto the stairs, but it was open nonetheless. Naruto knew for certain he'd locked it that morning.

A frown of annoyance and anger adorning his face, he pulled a kunai from the pouch at his waist and slowly slipped through the crack, careful not to make a sound so as not to make the intruder aware of his presence.

The main light in his apartment was off, but the lamp beside his bed was switched on, basking the room in a warm gold light. A large brown cloak was thrown over a kitchen chair, the dry material indicating the intruder had arrived well before the rain started. The kitchen side was littered with, much to Naruto's infuriation, empty ramen cups. Whoever had broken into his home had eaten what looked like all of his ramen!

Other than the empty ramen cups the apartment was empty, with no sign of the intruder. Naruto's brow wrinkled in confusion, before he heard the sound of the toilet flushing coming from the bathroom.

Naruto swiftly closed the front door with a tap and stalked up to the bathroom door. He pressed his back against the wall beside the door, so that when it was opened he'd be temporarily hidden from sight.

After several seconds of anxious waiting, the door creaked open. A man ambled out and kicked the door closed with the back of his foot. Naruto silently fumed, thinking that once he'd finished beating the man up he'd spend a good hour teaching him how to behave in other people's homes!

Naruto shifted silently into a fighting stance and raised his kunai. He stopped for a second, estimating the man's strength based on his weight and height, and then calculating how strong he'd have to make his strike. He took a soundless breath, before lunging forward for the attack.

Almost as if he'd been waiting for it, the man spun around on his heel and brought his leg up in a kick, knocking the kunai straight from Naruto's hand. He then used his other hands to grab Naruto's wrists, and one of his feet pinned Naruto's right foot to the ground.

Naruto growled angrily at being caught, and looked up into the man's face. He stopped breathing in shock as he recognised the man.

The man recognised Naruto at the same moment and hastily released his grip on Naruto, backing away slowly and rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

"Err...sorry about that Naruto...didn't recognise you with your hair wet like that," Minato said.


	8. Chapter 8

"_Err...sorry about that Naruto...didn't recognise you with your hair wet like that," Minato said. _

"Minato! What the hell are you doing here?"

"Language Naruto," Minato scolded the boy, that peculiar fatherly instinct kicking in again.

"Whatever," Naruto muttered under his breath, then asked again "What are you doing here?"

"What? Can't I come visit my so-best friend once in a while," Minato said, almost slipping up and calling Naruto 'son'.

"But it's not my birthday!" Naruto said, confused at Minato's sudden appearance.

"So I can't visit you if I don't bring a birthday present?" Minato said the hurt in his tone not entirely fake. "Fine, I'll go then," Minato turned towards the door, when he felt something heavy hit him from behind and two arms wrap tightly around his chest.

"I'm sorry Minato, please don't go," Naruto mumbled, his face buried into the man's back. Minato let out a sigh, not quite sure why he was relieved that Naruto had stopped him.

"You know you're getting me wet," he said not unkindly to the boy, whose clothes were soaked from the rain. Naruto hastily released Minato. Minato turned round to face Naruto and was surprised to see tears threatening to fall from his sky-blue eyes.

"I'm sorry," Naruto said, his voice uncharacteristically quiet and solemn.

"It's okay Naruto. I just overreacted," Minato explained, ruffling the blonde's hair.

Naruto said "You can stay as long as you want Minato. I was just surprised to see you, and I've been jumpy ever since yesterday...you kind of caught me on a bad day" and grinned apologetically.

"What happened yesterday?" Minato questioned.

"Kakashi-sensei told us he's entering our team into the chunin exams...oh and I met Gaara of the Sand," Naruto gave an involuntary shiver at Gaara's name. Why did that redhead seem so familiar to him? He didn't know but he aimed to find out, even if the boy's eyes gave him the creeps.

Minato's eyes opened wide in recognition as Naruto spoke of Gaara. He'd never met Gaara, but he knew the Sand Nin held the demon Shukaku within him, similar to how Naruto held the Kyuubi. He anxiously glanced down at Naruto. Did Gaara's appearance in the village have anything to do with his hunt for Rokai? He had no evidence that Rokai was in any way connected with Shukaku, but if he was that could lead to big problems. However, once he recalled that Naruto had mentioned the chunin exams, he allowed his worries and fears to disappear. Gaara was around Naruto's age; obviously he'd come to Konoha simply to take part in the chunin exams.

Remembering that he was supposed to be talking with Naruto, Minato dragged himself from his thoughts and said "Why did that make you jumpy?"

"Well...it's complicated..." Naruto said, twisting his hands together nervously. How much could he tell Minato without him figuring out that the villagers mistreated him?

Minato just shrugged and sat on the bed. He patted the place beside him and said "I've got all day." Naruto hesitated for only a second, before he took the space next to Minato.

"Well?" Minato prompted Naruto after several minutes of troubled silence.

"Err...you know I mentioned we're hosting the chunin exams in Konoha and Kakashi-sensei has entered team 7?" Minato nodded, encouraging Naruto to continue with a smile. He could tell Naruto wasn't used to telling people of his problems.

"The chunin exams...I'm kind of nervous about them," Naruto's kept his gaze firmly fixed on the floor as he said this, like he was admitting a great weakness and was embarrassed.

"Why?" Minato simply asked.

"Well you know I want to be Hokage one day? In order to be the best ninja and get my dream, I obviously have to do well in the exams and become a chunin. I know, thanks to the scrolls you gave me, that if I tried my best I could probably become a chunin and be a step closer to my dream. But I can't use those jutsu because I promised you I'd let no one see me using them."

"Don't you know any other jutsu?" Minato inquired, frowning. He hoped Naruto could do well in the chunin exams even without the jutsu's from the scrolls.

"One or two others, not counting the ones taught in the academy. The ones you give me usually keep me busy and sensei hasn't taught us anything other than tree walking."

"What rank are the others you know?"

"A-rank."

"Why don't you use those then, and supplement them with the jutsu you learned at the academy?"

"I can't use them."

"Why not?"

"It's hard to explain."

"Try me," Minato said, his curiosity now completely aroused. Naruto shifted uncomfortably.

"Well, when I'm not talking with you, I act...err...different."

"Different how?"

"I... I act like an idiot," Naruto grimaced as he said this, "I mean, I was always loud and clumsy when I was younger, and then you came and I got stronger but... well everyone was so used to me being stupid that I just didn't stop _being _stupid. So if I suddenly use a jutsu sensei hasn't taught me people will get suspicious and start snooping in my business and my... my _mask _that I created will be useless."

Minato stared at Naruto, amazed. Naruto hid his true self from everyone else? Minato had seen how talented Naruto was, and the idea that Naruto had hid his talent from everyone else astounded him. Minato couldn't believe that Naruto would hide his talent just because of _peer pressure_; there had to be something else.

"Why do you act?" Minato said.

Naruto looked confused, "I just told you."

"There's another reason. Tell me Naruto."

Naruto pursed his lips, trying to hide his fear. He was scared of what he'd reveal if he continued with this conversation. He was certain that Minato would no longer want to be his friend if he knew that he was the container for the Kyuubi, and if he told him he acted weak so the villagers wouldn't feel threatened by him, the 'demon' as many called him, Minato would surely somehow manage to find out the rest.

"Can we talk about this later, I'm hungry," Minato realised that Naruto was trying to steer the conversation to an end, and was about to repeat his last question with even more insistence, but then he saw the look in Naruto's eyes. He was worried, scared even, and was doing a poor job of hiding it.

"Sure, let's get something to eat," Minato sighed, dropping the conversation reluctantly.

"Yes! Ramen here I co-" Naruto suddenly stopped as he caught sight of the empty ramen cups littering his kitchen; all that was left of his huge stock of ramen.

"You ate all my ramen," he said, his voice dripping with misery and his face the perfect portrayal of a heartbroken lover. Minato was startled to see what looked like tears in his son's eyes.

"Sorry Naruto. It's just I always used to love ramen, and when I saw all those cups, I just...I couldn't help myself. How about we go out for dinner, my treat?"

"Yes! Ichiraku ramen!" he jumped up and down in excitement, before stopping with the miserable expression gracing his face once more, "But it's raining, he might be closed."

"Never. Ichiraku ramen opens at all times, come hell or high water!" Minato said this with such conviction that Naruto immediately believed him and grabbed an umbrella from a kitchen cupboard. Minato laughed and pulled on his cloak. Naruto's happiness was infectious, and five minutes later the pair were literally running to Ichiraku's, Naruto's joyful laughter loud even in the rain. The streets were empty as people escaped the rain and hid in their homes, preferring to spend their time perched in front of a fire rather than getting soaked to the bone.

When they reached the street where the ramen stall was located, Naruto was delighted to discover that it was open, just like Minato said. As they neared the building, Naruto suddenly remembered something and grabbed Minato's arm, pulling him into the shadows.

"Naruto, what's wrong?" Minato said, confused.

"You're not in your illusion jutsu. You're supposed to be a secret, right?" Naruto told him in a hushed voice.

"Of course; I completely forgot. Thanks Naruto," he said as he made the hand signs. There was a small puff of smoke, and a teenager only a couple of inches taller than Naruto with short black hair and dark green eyes was stood in Minato's place.

Naruto's brow creased in bemusement. "That's different from your last illusion," he remarked.

"Yeah it's different. I know several, and I figured that this one would stand out less. Plus, I get to see the world from your eyes; the perspective of a midget," he joked.

"Hey!" Naruto said indignantly as he moved to hit Minato. Minato just dodged and chuckled loudly.

Naruto, annoyed and humiliated, said "I'm going to get my ramen now."

"Wait for me! I'm paying remember," Minato yelled after the blonde teen, his joke on Naruto completely forgotten. Naruto ducked into the shop with Minato at his heels.

"Naruto, good to see you," Ichiraku Teuchi said, grinning at his favourite customer.

"Same to you. I'll have one bowl of pork ramen. What about you, err, Tetsu?"

Minato, realising Naruto was referring to him with a fake name, ordered the same as Naruto before taking a seat. Naruto took the seat beside him, then breathed in deeply.

"Ah! Ramen; The best smell in the world," he said loudly, his smile so bright Minato could have sworn it was glowing. The man behind the counter chuckled, then asked "Who's your friend Naruto?"

"Oh this is Tetsu. We met the other day and he told me he'd never tried your ramen, so I thought I'd bring him along," Naruto quickly thought up a story. Minato was impressed; Naruto sounded completely believable.

"Nice to meet you Tetsu," the man said as he placed two bowls of steaming pork ramen before the boys.

"You too," Minato replied, though he already knew the man. Naruto's story was completely untrue in every aspect. Before the kyuubi had attacked, Minato had eaten regularly at Ichiraku ramen, practically eating all his meals there. His favourite food was ramen and, judging by how fast Naruto was gobbling his bowl, it was Naruto's favourite too.

Fifteen minutes later Minato paid for the ramen and the pair left the shop. They strolled slowly through the rain, Naruto occasionally swinging his umbrella in Minato's direction as he tried to exact revenge for the 'midget' joke. Minato just laughed whenever he missed, and when Naruto finally managed to hit him he scowled and wrestled the umbrella from the young blonde.

"Hey give it back," Naruto squawked in annoyance as he made a grab for the umbrella but missed.

"Come and get it," Minato exclaimed as he turned on his heel and sprinted off in the direction of Naruto's apartment.

"OY!" Naruto yelled, but couldn't keep the grin from his face as he chased after Minato through the rain.

After ten minutes of running, yelling and lots of laughing, the two arrived at Naruto's apartment and struggled through the door, panting for breath.

Minato released his illusion jutsu and said "For a little guy you sure run fast."

"Stop calling me little! I'll have a growth spurt any day now, you'll see!" Naruto said huffily, but his blue eyes were sparkling with amusement.

"Yeah, and pigs will fly," Minato teased, "The day you have a growth spurt is the day I get a grey hair."

"Well looks like it's my lucky day. You've already got grey hairs."

"WHAT? WHERE?" Minato immediately grabbed his long blonde hair, seeking the grey hairs out with his fingers.

Naruto couldn't help it- the outraged look on Minato's face was just too hilarious. He pointed a finger at the other man's comical expression and began to laugh. He laughed so much that he fell to the floor and began pounding it with his fist.

Minato, realising that Naruto was playing a joke on him, frowned and said in a mock evil voice "I will have my revenge for that Naruto."

Naruto stopped laughing immediately and pulled himself to his feet. Seeing the angry glare Minato was directing t him, he gulped and said in a quiet voice "Eh?"

"We're going to do battle Naruto, and if I win you must admit that I have no grey hairs."

"Battle?" Naruto said, shocked.

" Yes, battle. I, Minato, challenge you, Uzumaki Naruto, to a game of chess!"

"CHESS?!"

Fifteen minutes had passed, and Naruto and Minato were sat at opposite ends of the kitchen table, a chess board between them. Naruto didn't own a chess board (which had completely shocked Minato, who was apparently very fond of chess), so Minato had pulled out a scroll and done an odd sort of summoning jutsu which had resulted in the chess set as well as a change of clothes for Minato, as his were wet from the rain. When Naruto had questioned him about the jutsu, he'd explained it was a special type of summoning jutsu which allowed him to summon objects he had hidden in a secret cave whenever he needed them. It was called a Key Summons jutsu.

Once Naruto had learnt the details of the Key Summons jutsu, he'd made a deal with Minato. They'd agreed that they'd play chess, and if Minato won Naruto would admit that he didn't have any grey hairs, and if Naruto won Minato would teach him how to do the Key Summons jutsu.

Unfortunately for Naruto he'd never played chess before, and even after Minato explained the rules and how the pieces could be moved, Naruto still found the game difficult. Minato, on the other hand, was happy that soon Naruto would be admitting that he had no grey hairs. It was obvious that Naruto didn't understand the game, and his chances of winning were practically zero.

"What's this piece again?"

"It's a bishop."

"What does it do again?"

"It moves diagonally along."

"Right...well then, I move my bishop here. Checkmate."

Minato stared dumbstruck at the chess board. He examined the board, searching for a way out of check, but Naruto had him completely trapped between one of his knights, his queen and the bishop he'd just moved. He lifted his gaze to Naruto to see the blonde boy grinning triumphantly.

"How did you win? I thought this was the first time you'd played chess," Minato exclaimed.

"It was my first time. I'm just a quick learner," Naruto grinned, then said "Now you have to teach me the Key Summons jutsu."

Minato sighed in defeat and looked towards the window to escape the victorious smirk Naruto was giving him, and was shocked to see the sky was pitch black. He looked at the clock hanging in the kitchen area of Naruto's apartment. It was ten minutes past midnight.

"I'll teach it to you tomorrow Naruto, it's getting late," Minato explained as he stood up and filled the kettle, which he'd key summoned halfway through the game so he could have a cup of coffee, before flicking it on.

"You mean you're coming back tomorrow?" Naruto said excitedly. Minato had never visited him two days in a row.

"Actually, I was going to ask if I could stay here for a while. I'd like to see you in the chunin exams."

"Really?" Naruto said, not quite believing his ears.

"Yes Naruto, really. Can I stay here?"

"Of course you can! But you'll have to pay for ramen, I'm all out of money and this month's meals disappeared down your throat," Naruto explained. Minato grimaced at the last statement, before sending Naruto a look which translated roughly into "I'm truly really sorry I ate all your ramen, I couldn't help myself". Naruto just smiled, showing him that he'd been forgiven but he could still expect some jibes about his greediness.

Naruto moved from his chair, excused himself and went into the bathroom. When he returned he was in his pyjamas, while Minato was sat back at the kitchen table with a mug of hot chocolate, the chess set gone, and a sleeping bag was in place beside Naruto's bed. Minato passed Naruto another mug of hot chocolate as he sat down opposite him.

"Thanks," Naruto said. He took a small mouthful, not wanting to scold his tongue on the hot but delicious brew, swallowed and said "Where'd you get the coco from?"

"Key Summons jutsu," Minato said by way of explanation.

"Is there anything you _don't_ have in that cave of yours?" Naruto jibed as he took another gulp of hot chocolate.

"Oh it's a big cave," Minato said, grinning widely. Naruto laughed and turned his gaze to the clock. It really was getting late, and he had training in the morning. He knocked back the rest of his hot chocolate and said "I better get to bed. Sakura-chan will kill me if I'm late for training."

Naruto placed his empty mug in the sink before heading towards the bed. "Do you mind if I turn the lamp off?" Naruto asked, attempting in his own way to be a perfect host.

"No you can turn it off. I'm going to bed soon anyway."

Naruto nodded and switched the lamp off, enveloping the room in complete darkness. Minato heard the ruffle of blankets as Naruto climbed into bed which was soon followed by a sigh of contentment.

Minato smiled at the patch of darkness which he knew hid the bed. Today had been the best day of his life since the kyuubi had attacked. Hanging around with Naruto had been wonderful, almost like he was making up for all those years he'd missed while he was hunting down Rokai.

As Rokai's name entered his thoughts he became troubled. Though he did want to see Naruto in the chunin exams, that was not the main reason why he wished to stay with Naruto. After his conversation with Iho he knew Rokai could be anywhere or anyone. So he'd decided he'd simply stay near Naruto until the demon showed up, instead of searching the world for something he might never find. Also, while he was there, he was going to try and work up the courage to tell Naruto he was his father and he wouldn't mind knowing why Naruto 'acted' around everyone else.

Minato hadn't forgotten the conversation they'd had earlier that day, but he knew Naruto found the subject awkward and didn't want to push him. He'd ask him again once he'd got comfortable with Minato being around.

Yawning, Minato stood up and placed his now empty mug in the sink and headed towards his sleeping bag. He slid into the bag and nestled his head into the pillow, getting comfortable. He wasn't sure how long he would have to stay with Naruto before the Rokai made an appearance, but if every day was as fun as that one he wouldn't mind staying for years.

As these thoughts raced through his sleep-muffled mind, another thing occurred to him. Once he'd got rid of the threat of Rokai, he could finally reveal to the people of Konoha that he was alive. Then he and Naruto could become a proper family, and he'd make up for all those years he'd missed. Sighing contentedly at these thoughts, he closed his eyes and slept.


	9. Chapter 9

Naruto awoke to the smell of something delicious. His eyes slowly fluttered open, revealing orbs of azure tinted gold in the light of the rising sun. He yawned loudly before sitting up in the bed, his eyes automatically seeking out the source of the wonderful aroma. When his gaze found the plate of bacon and eggs and the glass of orange juice on the kitchen table, he frowned. Then memories of the day before hit him like a tsunami, and his frown swiftly changed to a grin.

Glancing down at the sleeping bag beside his bed, he was disappointed to see it was empty. Then he mentally scolded himself for being an idiot. Minato wouldn't have made breakfast then gone back to bed now would he? Shaking his head at his own idiocy he clambered out of bed and took a seat at the kitchen table. Grabbing the knife and fork already laid out he stared at the breakfast hungrily and was about to dig in, when he suddenly stopped.

A thought had just entered his head. What if the breakfast wasn't for him? What if Minato had just made it then popped out for a second? He'd be really angry if he came back and found Naruto scoffing down his breakfast. Naruto dropped the knife and fork reluctantly. He was about to get up and pour himself some cereal when he saw the empty plate and glass in the sink.

Naruto beamed as he realised that Minato had already eaten his bacon and eggs, which meant the food sat in front of him was definitely meant for him. He eagerly snatched up the cutlery and placed a generous portion of egg into his mouth. Naruto was pleased to discover the food was as tasty as its smelt and, surprisingly, was still warm. Obviously Minato had only left minutes before Naruto had awoken.

Naruto continued to gobble his breakfast and ten minutes later his plate was empty and he was gulping down the last of the orange juice. He sighed contently and rubbed his stomach. He was disappointed that Minato hadn't shown up while he ate, but he shrugged it off as he walked into the bathroom.

As he brushed his teeth he was surprised to see an unfamiliar blue toothbrush in the cup where he kept his own. Clearly Minato had made himself at home in the boys apartment. Naruto grinned at this thought. He'd never lived with anyone before and was looking forward to not being alone anymore, even if it was only temporary.

Naruto quickly checked the clock in the kitchen and, seeing that he still had thirty-five minutes until he had to set off for training, pulled off his pyjamas and jumped into the shower. He winced as the cold water touched his bare skin. His water heater had broken down months before, and the landlord refused to get someone to fix it for him. After all, he was a 'demon' and didn't deserve hot water. As Naruto felt his eyes sting with unshed tears, he quickly pushed the depressing thoughts from his mind. He'd discovered long ago that crying was useless. It didn't help.

Naruto showered for twenty minutes then towelled himself dry, putting on his favourite orange jumpsuit over a plain white top. He spent another five minutes trying to locate his comb, but eventually gave up and just dragged his fingers through his hair. After that Naruto packed his pouch with several kunai's and other weapons and slipped it round his waist.

He eyed the clock and saw he only had five minutes until he had to go. Minato had yet to show up. Where was he? Had he decided that he didn't want to stay with him and simply left? Naruto sighed miserably and was about to leave for the training grounds when the front door swung open, hitting the wall with a bang.

Naruto watched in shock as Minato (in his Tetsu illusion jutsu) marched into the apartment clutching two bulging brown paper bags to his chest. He dropped the bags onto the table and released the jutsu, before turning to Naruto with a huge smile on his face.

"Good morning Naruto. Slept well?" he said. "Enjoy your breakfast? I'm not a very good cook so it was a risk making something for you since there was a chance you wouldn't survive, but hey by the looks of you it turned out all right. I mean you're not dead yet, but I guess it could be a late reaction or something along those lines," Minato babbled. He looked excited about something, with his glistening blue eyes and bright smile.

Naruto just stared, his mouth doing an amazing impression of a fish, before he managed to pull himself together and said "Yeah I loved the breakfast. It was really nice. You're a good cook."

"Thanks," Minato acknowledged the compliment, "Guess there's a first time for everything."

Naruto stared a bit more, before he hesitantly asked "Where've you been?"

Minato's smile got even wider, if that was possible, and he practically squealed "Shopping!"

"You _like_ shopping?" Naruto said incredulously.

"Well no. At least not usually. But this morning I found this," he pulled the book _A Ninja's Guide to Taijutsu Techniques _from his jacket pocket and waved it enthusiastically in the air, "under your dirty clothes and I thought 'hey I got a little extra money and Naruto obviously loves stuff like this', so I decided to treat you." As he finished he pulled out three books and two scrolls from one of the brown bags.

"These are for you!" he explained excitedly.

Naruto gawped, then grinned and ran forward, embracing Minato in a bone-crushing hug.

"Wow Minato you're the best. Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

Minato chuckled and ruffled Naruto's hair, not caring that it was still partly wet from his earlier shower. After several seconds of mumbling thank you's into Minato's chest, Naruto stepped back and said "What's in the other bag?"

"You'll love this!" Minato exclaimed. He grabbed the other bag and tipped its contents onto the table, laughing at Naruto's joyful expression as around twenty pots of instant ramen revealed themselves to him.

"Beautiful," Naruto said, his eyes fixed on the ramen covering the table. His huge grin suddenly disappeared though, as he said "Minato, I can't pay for this..."

"I don't expect you to Naruto. All these are presents. _You_ don't pay for them."

"You buy me a lot of presents."

"I like spoiling you," Minato replied as he picked up several of the ramen cups and started packing them in the kitchen cupboards. "Shouldn't you be at training?"

Naruto snapped his eyes up to look at the clock. "Crap I'm late!

"Language Naruto," Minato automatically scolded him.

"Whatever," Naruto called back as he ran through the front door and charged down the stairs.

Minato watched him leave with a worried frown. He quickly finished packing the cupboards and slipped into his illusion jutsu, which was now officially called Tetsu. He then swiftly left the apartment, making sure to place a few security jutsu's around the perimeter.

Once he'd done this he began to trail Naruto, keeping to the rooftops so he could move quicker. Surprisingly Naruto's chakra trail was very faint and extremely hard to follow. Minato felt a sense of pride swell up in him when he realised his 13 year old son was hiding his chakra at jounin level.

Eventually Minato managed to track Naruto to a bridge which led to the training grounds. Naruto was sat at the edge of the bridge, swinging his legs over the water with a huge smile plastered across his face. On the other side of the bridge was a pale boy with black hair and matching black eyes, and clinging to his elbow was a girl with pink hair, her green eyes wide with adoration as she stared at the boy she clung to. Based on Naruto's past descriptions of his teammates, he guessed that the girl was Haruno Sakura and the boy Uchiha Sasuke. Minato sat in a tree not too far away from the group, making sure to hide himself in the dense foliage.

Minato was too far away to hear their words, but he saw Sakura's mouth move as she said something to Sasuke. Sasuke answered immediately and Sakura's face filled with disappointment. Naruto then joined the conversation as he turned to look at Sakura. Sakura's face became angry as she marched forward and clomped Naruto on the head.

Curious to know what Naruto had said which made the girl hit him, Minato enhanced his hearing using chakra. Suddenly he could hear their voices like they were stood next to him.

"-told you before and I'll tell you again, I'll NEVER go out with you!" Sakura finished what she was saying by hitting Naruto again.

"Hn, dobe," Sasuke grunted.

"Shut it Sasuke-teme! I wasn't talking to you."

"Naruto! Don't yell at Sasuke-kun!" Minato winced as she hit Naruto the third time in as little as a minute, feeling complete sympathy for his son. He remembered Naruto describing Sakura as 'pretty' but a 'not very dedicated' – knowing this, and seeing how violent she was being with Naruto, Minato concluded that she was in no way suitable for his son.

The three teens continued to converse in this manner for thirty minutes, before their boredom silenced them and they just sat silently on the bridge, the quiet only occasionally broken by the whistle of a nearby bird or a tired yawn from Naruto.

They waited for an hour.

Then another hour.

Then another hour.

Minato awoke from his doze when he felt something licking his face. Laughing quietly, he slowly opened his eyes to see a large tabby cat perched on the branch beside him. He stroked its head, liking the feel of its soft fur under his fingers, and turned to look towards the bridge. What he saw nearly made him fall out of the tree.

They were gone. Cursing, he checked that his illusion jutsu was still in place then jumped onto the bridge. After what seemed like hours he finally picked up Naruto's chakra trail. He followed it up a hill and through a small patch of trees, until he found himself in a familiar looking training ground.

Relief hit him like a wave when he saw his son and three other figures at the other side of the training ground. He silently and swiftly climbed into a large oak tree then peeked through the branches, careful not to make a sound.

The three genin were sat on logs near the edge of the training ground. Stood in the centre of them and giving the three instructions was a silver-haired masked man, his only visible eye fixed on the book in his hand, only occasionally moving to gaze at one of the teens when they said something. Minato recognised the man instantly. Kakashi.

When Naruto had first told Minato that his sensei was Kakashi, he'd been extremely surprised. He had never thought that Kakashi would get his own team. He just never seemed to be the type of person to teach. Minato also found the fact that his former student was now teaching his son very strange. When he'd first heard of team 7 from Naruto, he had wondered if Kakashi knew Naruto was his son and had asked for him to be placed on his team so he could teach him everything that he'd learnt from Minato. But when Minato had subtly asked Naruto if Kakashi gave him personal training, his theory had gone straight out of the window. According to Naruto, Kakashi had never given him private training, and tended to teach Sasuke and Sakura more than he did Naruto. Minato still felt guilty about the murderous thoughts he'd had of his former student as soon as Naruto uttered those words. The very idea that Naruto was ignored and his training made less important than others made him see red.

As Minato stared at Kakashi he felt anger at the edge of his mind, but he quickly pushed it away. He couldn't afford to get angry at Kakashi now. If he did he could become careless and give his position away. Getting comfortable in the tree, he completely suppressed his chakra, so the jounin couldn't sense him, and watched the team train.

"Today we're going to work on chakra control," Kakashi said, his single visible eyes darting from side to side as he read the book in his hand.

"Again Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura complained, "We did that when we went on that mission!"

"Hn," Sasuke agreed. Surprisingly, Naruto said nothing.

"I know, but I can't be bothered to teach you a new jutsu and I'm bored of watching Sasuke and Naruto spar. Now choose a tree and do thirty runs."

Team 7 reluctantly obeyed, though Sakura muttered angrily under her breath "Stupid perverted lazy sensei..." The three teens each chose a tree, and Sasuke and Sakura began to run up it by directing chakra to their feet. The genin team had learnt how to do this nearly a year before when they'd been sent on a C-rank mission, to escort a bridge-builder to his homeland, which had quickly transformed into an A-rank when it became apparent that missing nins were after their client. Kakashi had fitted some extra training, which included chakra control, into the mission to increase their chances of beating the missing nins.

It was on that mission that Naruto had nearly broken his promise to Minato. Sakura and Kakashi were guarding the bridge builder while Sasuke and Naruto were trapped in one of the missing nins, whose name was Haku, bloodline technique. Naruto had been knocked unconscious and when he'd awoken he'd been shocked to see Sasuke stood over him, needles protruding from his flesh like a living pin-cushion. Sasuke had then collapsed from blood loss, Naruto only barely managing to catch him.

It was at that moment that Naruto had realised he'd need to use the jutsu's from Minato's scrolls to beat Haku. He would have to drop his clumsy idiotic mask and reveal his true self, because if he didn't, he and Sasuke would be killed. Naruto had slowly moved Sasuke off of him, then stood, his hands already moving into familiar handseals.

The fight had lasted for twenty more minutes. The result was a dead Haku, his body covered in burns and open cuts, and a barely bruised Naruto, the most serious injuries he'd obtained already healed by the Kyuubi. Later, when Kakashi had asked him how he defeated Haku, Naruto told him the last thing he remembered was seeing Sasuke faint and feeling an unfamiliar chakra take over him. Kakashi had concluded that the Kyuubi had momentarily taken over Naruto's body and killed the missing nin. By making Kakashi believe this, Naruto protected his promise to Minato. After all, no one but Haku had seen him perform the jutsu's, and he'd literally taken it to the grave.

Naruto dragged himself from his memories and stared up at the tree he had chosen. He gulped. He had no idea what to do. He could easily climb the tree, but in order to keep up his 'stupid' act, he had to do it clumsily and make several mistakes. Normally, he wouldn't have minded this. But today was different. Today Minato was watching.

Yes, Naruto could sense him. He could feel Minato's chakra like he could feel the wind blow through his hair; it couldn't be seen, but it still tickled and made the hair on the back of his neck stand up. Naruto could also tell that Minato was suppressing his chakra, because Naruto never had any trouble sensing chakra, no matter how small. He guessed he could thank the Kyuubi for that particular ability.

"What's wrong Naruto? You waiting for the tree to help you up?" Kakashi's voice snapped Naruto from his thoughts.

"Nothing's wrong Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto answered immediately, not wanting to arouse the copy-nins suspicions. Kakashi quirked an eyebrow at Naruto's quick answer, but decided it was just Naruto being goofy again and continued to read.

Naruto glanced at the tree, then at Kakashi, and then at his other two teammates, who had already done nearly half of their exercises. He sighed and shook his head. He had no choice. He would have to act the fool then deal with Minato's questions later. He focused the chakra to his feet and ran up the tree; silently praying that 'later' would never come.

Minato spent the next four hours watching Naruto train. What he saw shocked him. Naruto, who was probably the most talented genin that Minato had ever seen, probably even more talented than himself, was acting like an idiot. It became obvious to Minato why Kakashi wouldn't want to train Naruto, if Naruto acted so hopeless and foolish all the time.

The question was, why was Naruto acting this way? Minato knew for certain this was the act, the mask that Naruto had talked about the previous day. Minato also knew that Naruto was hiding behind the face of an idiot for a reason, and Minato wouldn't rest until he found out why.

When the sun began to fall and the sky turned a deep mesmerizing blue, Kakashi called an end to the training session. The team talked for several minutes, with Naruto getting hit by Sakura at least twice, before going their separate ways, Kakashi disappearing in a puff of smoke. Naruto walked slowly down the hill, his hands in his pockets and a small smile on his face as he watched the first stars appear in the sky.

After giving Naruto several minutes head start, Minato began to follow after him, unsure whether Naruto would go straight home or go to Ichiraku's for dinner. Naruto strode through the streets of Konoha, while Minato silently jumped from roof to roof, careful to avoid any Konoha ninja's on guard duty.

It was when they were on the main shopping street in the village that Minato first noticed it. The smile, which had graced Naruto's face since he had finished training, was slowly slipping into a frown, and his bright blue eyes were now directed at the floor, completely ignoring his surroundings. Worried and curious to know what had caused Naruto's change in mood, he enhanced his hearing and sight by concentrating his chakra, intending to search for the source of his sons unhappiness.

He didn't have to search long.

"...monster..."

"...freak..."

The words were meant to be whispers, mutterings as people walked by, insults aimed at only one person.

"...demon..."

Naruto.

Minato's face turned pale from shock, and he stopped dead in his tracks. He didn't even notice he'd sat down until he felt the cold slates of a roof on the back of his legs. Emotions tore at him from the inside; sorrow, guilt, pity, surprise, fear and panic.

When he'd first visited Naruto on his eighth birthday, he'd suspected that the villagers were unkind to his son by judging Naruto's actions. But he'd had no idea at all that they were as horrible as this. Had the villagers always tormented Naruto so, muttering insults under their breath as they walked past him in the street, not caring that he was a young boy, all alone in the world? He could still hear the words, echoing and repeating inside of his head...monster...freak....demon.

Suddenly it all made sense. Why Naruto acted dumb. Why he wore a mask. The insults from the villagers were the result of fear and anger, and Naruto, being the clever boy he was, had tried to ease the villagers fear as much as he could by acting weak, so they wouldn't feel threatened. He'd hid away his talent, his potential, all his life, so the villagers could sleep safe at night knowing the 'demon' was too pathetic and feeble to harm them.

A surge of guilt washed through Minato as the pieces of the puzzle began to assemble in his mind. He had done this. It was him who had fought Kyuubi, him who had sealed the demon inside of his newly-born son. It was him that had placed such a heavy and miserable burden on his only child's shoulders. Yes, he had asked the Third Hokage, Sarutobi, to ensure that Naruto was treated like a hero. But he'd been naive, stupid to think that the villagers wouldn't hate Naruto for holding the demon that had nearly destroyed the village and slaughtered countless people.

_So stupid! _

Minato was wiping the tears from his eyes, tears for his son, when a terrible thought suddenly struck him. What if Naruto didn't know why the villagers were so cruel to him? What if he didn't know of the Kyuubi?

Jumping to his feet Minato headed towards Naruto's apartment, intent on discovering what Naruto knew. As he neared the small home, determination gripped him in an iron vice. The same determination that had possessed him nearly fourteen years before, when he'd seen the terrible demon Kyuubi ripping his village apart. He _would_ stop this. He _would_ end Naruto's suffering, even if he had to tear down a thousand Kyuubi's and Raiko's to do.


	10. Chapter 10

"Naruto?"

Minato's voice sounded oddly nervous as he called out his sons' name. When there wasn't an immediate answer he closed the front door with a small tap. He turned towards the only other room in the apartment; the bathroom. The door was closed.

Minato strode forward and knocked on the door. "Naruto? You in there?"

There were several seconds of stretched silence, before Naruto's voice called out "Just a minute."

"Are-" Minato hesitated for a split second, wondering how he would tell Naruto he knew he was tormented by the villagers, "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine!" Naruto's reply came all too quickly for Minato's liking, and Minato felt a mixture of worry and fear settle in his stomach.

"Naruto, open the door," Minato said, trying to keep the urgency out of his voice.

No answer.

"Naruto, open the door now!"

Panic gripped Minato's chest in an iron hold as he once again received no answer.

"Naruto," Minato was about to kick the door down when it suddenly opened in his face, revealing a very disgruntled looking Naruto. When Naruto didn't immediately speak, Minato said "Are you alright Naruto?"

"I already told you, I'm fine," Naruto pushed passed Minato and headed towards the kitchen area. He opened a cupboard with a slam, grabbed a glass and filled it with water, before gulping it down. Minato winced at the noise of the cupboard door connecting with the wall. Naruto was obviously upset about something, and had no trouble expressing his emotions by abusing his furniture.

"Naruto, you're upset, you need to calm down," Minato said in a soothing voice, taking a hesitant step toward his son as he spoke.

"No," Naruto reacted instantly as he whirled round to face Minato. "You need to leave!" he yelled, his left hand crushing the glass he'd been holding.

"W-what?" Minato stuttered, taken aback.

"You heard me; I've had enough! Go back to wherever you normally live and leave me alone!" Naruto made towards the bathroom again, but Minato was suddenly beside him and holding his arm, keeping him in place.

"Why are you upset Naruto?" he asked. When Naruto turned to face him, Minato was shocked to see specs of red in Naruto's usually sky-blue eyes.

"Do you think I'm stupid?" Naruto hissed, "I know you've been following me all day Minato. I could sense your chakra. Do you know how long I've been wearing my mask, how long I've been hiding? You're the only person I've ever trusted with myself, the real me, and you...you!" Naruto had no idea how to put into words how he felt, so he tore his arm from Minato's grasp and stormed towards the bed, laying down and burying his head in the pillow.

Minato eyed Naruto with uncertainty. What was he supposed to do? Naruto wanted him to leave, but he had to keep an eye on Naruto in case Rokai attacked, plus he couldn't just leave Naruto upset like this.

He reached his decision when he heard the sound of a muffle sob. Preying his usually helpful fatherly instincts would kick in, he sat next to Naruto on the bed and patted his son gently between the shoulder blades. The sobs stopped immediately and just when Minato was going to remove his hand, worried that Naruto would yell at him to leave again, there was an orange blur and the young blonde teen was holding onto him like the world was about to end.

Minato stroked the boys head. "It's alright Naruto."

He could see Naruto visibly trembling in his arms as raw emotion poured from him in the form of tears. Gently stroking the boys back in what he hoped was a reassuring manner (he'd never been good at comforting people) he repeated his question from earlier. "Why are you so upset Naruto?"

Naruto froze in place in his arms and pulled back from the embrace, staring up at Minato with a tear-filled gaze, his azure eyes glistening as water continued to trickle from the corners.

"You're going to leave me," he mumbled, changing the direction of his gaze to the floor.

Minato frowned with confusion. Didn't Naruto just tell him to leave?

"Why would I leave Naruto?" Minato questioned his bemusement evident in the tone of his voice.

"When you find out what I am..." Naruto's voice faltered as more tears poured from his eyes and his frame began to shake, "...w-what I have inside me, you'll leave me." Naruto slammed his eyes shut as he spoke the last three words, willing with all his might that he could just disappear, go to a place where the thought of losing his only true friend didn't pierce him like a thousand daggers.

Minato's eyes widened with comprehension as he realised that Naruto was talking about the Kyuubi. Obviously Naruto did know about the demons existence within him, despite the Third's law that no one was permitted to discuss it. Judging by what Naruto had said earlier, Naruto was aware that Minato had been trailing him all day therefore he knew that Minato had heard the villagers insults and seen the way they mistreated him, and believed that Minato would ask about the reason behind it and Naruto would have to tell him about the Kyuubi. Naruto clearly thought that Minato, like so many others, would hate him for being the container of the demon and leave him to wallow in his misery and loneliness.

"Naruto..." Naruto slowly raised his head so his eyes met Minato's. Minato felt a sharp pang in his chest as he saw the fear in his sons gaze, fear of rejection. "Naruto, I know about the Kyuubi."

Whatever Naruto had been expecting it had clearly not been that. Naruto's eyes widened to such a degree it was almost comical, while the rest of his face did a remarkably good impression of a gaping fish.

Finally, after what seemed like hours of gawking, Naruto managed to stutter "H-how long have you known?"

"Since you told me your name," Minato said. Naruto's eyes widened even further at that. He'd first met Minato when he was seven, more than six years ago. Minato had known about the kyuubi all that time? It seemed impossible. If Minato knew about the kyuubi, why wasn't he acting like everyone else did, why wasn't he calling him demon and monster?

"How did you know?" Naruto said, pleased that his voice had steadied.

"I have several friends in high places. I heard rumours that there was a boy with the Kyuubi sealed within him, but I forgot his name. When I met you all those years ago and you told me your name, I remembered the rumours immediately," the lie slipped from Minato's mouth like silk, though it left a bitter taste of guilt behind.

"Why did you visit me then, if you knew about Kyuubi?"

Minato sighed, then said "Because no matter what anyone says or thinks about you Naruto, you are not a demon. You are a young boy, well a young teenager now, who needs friends and companionship just like any other person. Plus, I enjoy hanging out with you."

Naruto smiled at the latter part of Minato's speech. "I like hanging out with you too Minato. So you don't mind about the furball?"

Minato nearly choked on his tongue hearing Naruto call the fierce nine-tailed fox demon 'furball'. Seeing Minato's disbelieving expression Naruto laughed loudly, his miserable mood completely forgotten at the look on Minato's face. Minato scowled when he realised Naruto was laughing at him, then smirked evilly as an ingenious idea presented itself to him. Naruto, seeing the tell-tale sign that Minato was plotting something, stopped laughing immediately.

However, seconds later he was laughing again, only this time much louder and harder as Minato tickled him. "No fair!" Naruto managed to gasp out. It felt like his sides were going to split he was laughing that hard.

Naruto, deciding he'd had enough of being tickled senseless, brought his leg up in a kick to Minato's stomach, careful to make sure it was only gentle since he didn't want to hurt the man, before rolling off the bed and landing in a crouching position of the floor. Standing, he brushed invisible dirt off his chest and had to resist the urge to laugh at the stunned expression on Minato's face.

"I'll get you back for that," Minato challenged, though his tone of voice was full of laughter.

"Minato, you're looking at the number one prankster in all of Konoha. Trust me, whatever you do is nothing compared to what I can dish out," Naruto accepted the challenge with vigour, already wondering where he could get enough worms to fill the bottom of Minato's sleeping bag.

Minato just smiled, then his expression turned serious. "Naruto."

"Yes?" Naruto replied, the same look of seriousness mirrored on his face.

"I don't care about the Kyuubi. You're Uzumaki Naruto, a great shinobi who will one day be Hokage, no matter what anyone else thinks or says," Minato said confidently.

"Thanks Minato," Naruto said with a large smile on his face.

Minato grinned, but this soon turned into a frown when Naruto said "You can teach me the Key Summons jutsu now, can't you?"

"I can...but only if you do something for me first."

Naruto stopped jumping up and down with excitement and glanced at Minato, suspicion in his eyes. Just what was Minato up to now?

"I want you to drop your mask."

"WHAT?"


	11. Chapter 11

The sun rose over the large shinobi village of Konoha, its rays lighting up windows wet with morning dew. Uzumaki Naruto stared at the rippled reflection of the sun-tinted sky below him. The young teenager was sat on the bridge that was the official meeting place of team 7, his legs swinging over the water and his chin resting on the lowest bar of the fence.

His sky blue eyes were dull and unfocused, and he wore the face of a troubled man, as thoughts of the previous day ran through his head.

FLASHBACK

"I want you to drop your mask," Minato said.

"WHAT?"

"You heard me Naruto," Minato's face was completely serious.

"Are you crazy? I can't just suddenly drop my mask like that! You know the uproar that would cause?" Naruto attempted to explain as panic and fear clutched his heart.

"It's the mask, or the Key Summons jutsu. Make your choice," Minato said, crossing his arms to stop himself from rushing over and hugging his panicking son.

Naruto stared dumbstruck at the blonde man stood opposite him, then frowned and glanced at the floor. Minato watched him triumphantly, knowing there was nothing Naruto would put above the importance of learning a new jutsu.

After several seconds of stretched silence, Naruto looked up, his blue eyes glinting with determination. "I choose my mask," he stated, then stormed towards the kitchen table, sitting down in a huff and glaring angrily at the wall opposite him.

Minato's eyes widened with surprise. This mask was that important to him? For a split second, Minato considered just dropping the whole issue and allowing his son and best friend to continue with his double-life. Then he remembered the angry whispers of the villages, the taunts and insults, and a new determination and fire grew within him. He wanted to prove the villagers wrong. He wanted to shove in their faces how brilliant Naruto was. How Naruto wasn't a monster, but a strong ninja ready to give his life in service of the village.

At the last thought Minato blanched. No matter how much it stung his heart, he knew his son would readily give his life if it meant the villagers would be safe and happy. Just looking at how Naruto had hidden his talent and strength all these years proved this to him. If only the villagers could realise this. If only they could see the true Naruto, the one that hid behind the mask. He was certain if they saw the real Uzumaki Naruto, they would regret their words.

Minato knew that if Naruto dropped his mask it'd be good for him and the village in the long-run. Minato also knew that every person had the right to be themselves, no matter the consequences.

As these thoughts settled, Minato knew what he had to do. It was a big sacrifice on both Naruto's and Minato's part, but it was necessary. Stepping forward, he placed his hand on Naruto's shoulder. Naruto looked up into the steely determined eyes of his best friend, and felt a shiver of apprehension crawl down his back.

"Naruto," Naruto's eyes widened fearfully, "If you don't drop the mask, I'll never buy you ramen ever again."

END FLASHBACK

Damn that Minato! He knew all of Naruto's weaknesses. And now, because of him, Naruto was going to reveal his true self to his two teammates and sensei. Naruto had spent the entire night wishing curses on Minato and worrying over how team 7 would react when he dropped the mask. He'd barely slept an hour when nerves had attacked him in the form of a rather frightening nightmare (involving ramen being made illegal and all his jutsu scrolls being burned) and he'd awoken. Unable to get back to sleep, he'd dressed and headed to the bridge, three hours before they were scheduled to meet.

"Naruto?"

Naruto jumped as his name was called right beside his ear, banging his head on the fence above him.

"Itai!" he cried as he climbed to his feet. He rubbed the newly formed bruise on his head as he looked up into the green eyes of his female teammate, Haruno Sakura.

"Morning Sakura-chan," Naruto greeted her, his trademark grin slipping on automatically.

"Naruto you baka! What were you doing?" Naruto winced as the screeching tone of Sakura's voice reached his ears, the voice she always seemed to use on him. Naruto swore on more than one occasion that she was trying to make his ears bleed.

"Ah nothing Sakura-chan," Naruto said as he glanced up at the sky, the sun's position telling him he'd spent the last three hours doing nothing but thinking.

"You had to be doing _something _baka!" Sakura yelled as she made to hit Naruto on the head, like she always did when he said something that annoyed her. Naruto, though, wasn't paying attention so when the fist came hurtling towards his head he automatically dodged it before swinging his foot under Sakura's legs, making the unsuspecting girl fall to the ground with a thud.

"Naruto-baka! What was that for?" Sakura said as she stood up, rubbing her sore bottom gingerly.

"Uh sorry Sakura-chan. I didn't mean to, it was instinct!" Naruto, scratching his head sheepishly and hoping no one else saw his mask slip. However, it seemed the Gods felt like ruining Naruto's day as a familiar arrogant voice called out from the other side of the bridge.

"Since when does an idiot have instinct, _dobe_?"

Growling as he turned to face the Uchiha, Naruto barked "Shut it Sasuke-teme!" Sasuke just smirked in response and leaned casually against the fence. Seconds later Sakura had latched onto Sasuke's arm and Naruto was once again staring into the clear blue water of the river, the three man team settling into their familiar routine easily.

Half an hour passed and Naruto was still stood in basically the same position, though his eyes were closed as if he had fallen asleep standing. Contrary to outward appearances, though, Naruto was in fact focusing his entire attention on enhancing his senses. He was alert and looking out for Minato, just in case he decided to check up on Naruto to ensure he kept up his part of the deal. Naruto was fairly certain that Minato wouldn't show though, due to the sleeping tablets he'd_ accidently_ slipped into Minato's ramen the night before.

Another half hour passed before Kakashi showed up; the bridge filled with the familiar shouts of "YOU'RE LATE!" from Sakura and Naruto. Kakashi's eyes crinkled up as he smiled under his mask, spouting out the usual nonsense about 'rescuing an injured dolphin' or 'getting lost of the road of life'.

"What are we doing today?" Naruto asked, hoping it wasn't more pathetic D-rank missions. Honestly, he had to find that cat Tora one more time he'd return it to the Daimyo's wife as a new fur-rug.

"We're going to spend an hour sparring then if I think you're good enough for the chunin exams I'll give you the forms," Kakashi explained.

"What do you mean good enough?" Naruto shouted indignantly, "You already said we were being entered into the exams."

"Ah...I did didn't I? Well then, we're going to spar and if you do rubbish I'll take you out of the exams," the copy-nin said, his eyes still upturned as he smiled. Really, he just loved screwing with these kids.

Naruto grumbled something incomprehensible under his breath (Kakashi raised an eyebrow when he thought he heard the word 'jackass') but obediently followed his sensei and teammates as they turned to head towards their usual training grounds.

Team 7 had just left the bridge and were beginning to walk up the crest of the hill, Naruto still with the irritated expression on his face, when a voice suddenly shouted "Naruto!"

Naruto froze, instantly recognizing the voice. 'Please no, please Kami if you have ever loved me let him disappear' he prayed mentally, but obviously Kami had a personal vendetta against Naruto that day since the voice came again, only much closer.

"Naruto!"

Team 7 turned to face the approaching black-haired teen, Naruto turning last and not bothering to hide his angry glare from his other teammates. The teenager stopped in front of team 7 and panted for a second, before grinning and saying in a cheerful voice "Glad I caught you Naruto."

After several seconds of silence only punctuated by the curious looks he was getting from the rest of team 7 and the furious glares Naruto was directing at him, he rubbed his head sheepishly in a fashion amazingly similar to Naruto and introduced himself to the majority of the team.

"Hi. I'm Tetsu. I'm a friend of Naruto's. Naruto promised me yesterday that I could watch him train with you guys but the baka forgot to meet me! Isn't that right, Naruto?" Tetsu, known to Naruto as Minato, gave Naruto a sharp glance as if daring the blonde boy to contradict him.

Naruto, realising at once that his daily ramen intake for the next month probably depended on his answer, replied through gritted teeth "Yeah, that's right."

Minato, safely hidden within his Tetsu illusion jutsu, grinned and turned to look at Kakashi. "You don't mind, do you? I'm just a civilian so I wouldn't understand any of this business with catra or whatever it's called, but I'd really love to see Naruto fight."

Kakashi's eye crinkled as he smiled under his mask. "Sure, just try not to get in the way, ne?" Underneath this though, Kakashi was curious; curious why he had never heard of this 'Tetsu' character from Naruto, and why Naruto kept showering the black-haired teen with annoyed and angry glares. Intent on discovering whatever secret he was missing out on, he'd decided to allow Tetsu to join them for their training.

"Don't worry I won't." Tetsu grinned and then Team 7 continued on their way to the training grounds, Kakashi leading the way reading his book followed by Sasuke and Sakura, the latter glancing curiously at Tetsu and Naruto, who were trailing behind the rest, Naruto staring pointedly at the floor while he walked and Tetsu giving the sulking blonde a foxy grin.

Ten minutes later the group arrived at their destination and Kakashi momentarily looked up from his trashy novel to inform the group of their training arrangements.

"Sakura you need to work on your stamina so do some tree walking until I tell you to stop and after you can spar against whoever loses the first spar." Sakura nodded and headed towards the nearest tree, happy that she'd actually be doing some training but kind of annoyed that she'd have to spar with Naruto-baka after he'd lost to Sasuke-kun. "Naruto and Sasuke you'll be sparring. No ninjutsu."

Sasuke shot his teammate a cocky stare but was surprised to see Naruto was still glaring daggers at the floor, his arms crossed as he mumbled something about 'persistent assholes who couldn't leave him the hell alone'.

"Hey do-" Sasuke's insult was effectively cut off when Tetsu suddenly shouted "Naruto stop daydreaming!"

Naruto's head snapped up at the sound of his name. Realising what, or rather who, the cause was, he turned a full-force glare on Tetsu, allowing an inhuman growl to escape his throat as he released a significant amount of killing intent. Sasuke felt an involuntary shiver crawl up his spine and even Kakashi looked up from his book with raised eyebrows, but Tetsu just beamed at the blonde and slapped him on the back.

"Come on Naruto, you got to spar with your teammate."

Naruto broke from his angry stupor and pulled in his killing intent. "No ninjutsu right?" he said, his eyes shifting from his sensei to Sasuke.

"Yeah dobe you got lucky. I'll just have to use you as a kunai target instead" Sasuke smirked, twirling a kunai in his hand in a threatening way.

"Yeah whatever teme," Naruto replied half-heartedly as he slipped into a fighting stance while Kakashi and Tetsu backed away to the tree line. Minato narrowed his eyes when he spotted the obvious flaws in the boy's posture. It seemed Naruto wasn't taking his threat seriously.

Naruto, meanwhile, had automatically slipped into the security of his 'mask' and was preparing to charge headfirst into the Uchiha, like his idiotic persona normally did. He lifted a foot, ready to run for the teme, when Tetsu's voice cut through the air.

"Hey Naruto! If you win this spar I'll take you for ramen later," Tetsu yelled. Kakashi and Sasuke heard the shout with differing levels of amusement, both fairly certain Naruto wouldn't be getting his ramen. However Naruto was the only one who heard the underlying message: 'If you don't win this spar you'll never get ramen again'.

Shuddering at the mere thought he reluctantly dropped his mask and corrected his stance, noting the surprised look on Sasuke's face as he did so. He didn't blame him. Before his stance had been that of an academy student, his feet and arms in such awkward positions it wouldn't be surprising if he tripped over his own feet. Now though, his stance was completely and perfectly balanced, his hands already shaped to deliver effective blows and his arms positioned in such a way that he could both block and attack at the same time. The transformation in stances was like a harmless squirrel changing into a deadly leopard.

Sasuke, realising he was gawking, quickly hid behind his usual emotionless front and smirked. "Looks like you've been practising dobe, but don't think a new stance will help you defeat me!" And with that he charged forward, for the first time making the first move. Naruto simply nodded his head at his teammate's words and sprinted towards Sasuke, grinning at the shocked look on Sasuke's face at his increase in speed. Heh, he would've dropped his mask sooner, if only to see the look on the teme's face!

The two genin reached each other and Naruto immediately launched a fist at Sasuke's face. Sasuke blocked, pushing his surprise at the strength behind the blow to the back off his mind, he launched his own fist at Naruto. Naruto grabbed the pale fist with one hand and brought his other hand round and hit the joint in Sasuke's arm. Sasuke winced in pain as his other hand grabbed the joint on reflex, and Naruto used this opportunity to aim another punch at Sasuke's face. Unable to block in time the punch hit Sasuke's jaw straight on, causing the Uchiha to reel backwards. He would've stumbled, but Naruto still held tight onto the fist he'd made earlier. Keeping his hold on Sasuke's fist he pulled the black-haired youth towards him and brought his leg up, effectively kneeing the unprepared genin right in the stomach. Deciding his teammate had had enough of a beating, at least for now, Naruto released Sasuke's fist and jumped backwards, slipping back into his stance a few metres away from the panting Uchiha.

Kakashi looked up from his book, expecting to see the usual (Naruto on the floor with Sasuke stood over him gloating) and was beyond surprised at the scene that greeted him. Sasuke, the last Uchiha in Konoha and rookie of the year, was bent over clutching his stomach, a bruise already forming on the joint in his right arm and spitting blood onto the grass while Naruto, knucklehead ninja and deadlast of the year, was stood in a perfect stance without even a scratch on him.

Kakashi blinked a few times, thinking he might be hallucinating, but the image stayed the same. Directing his gaze to the teen that stood beside him he was again surprised to see the smirk on Tetsu's face and the knowing look in his eyes. He was about to ask the teen what he knew that he didn't when he Naruto's voice stopped him.

"You ready for round two Sasuke-teme?"

Sasuke wiped the blood from his mouth and straightened his posture into the classic Uchiha stance before gifting Naruto with his darkest glare yet.

"I don't know how the hell you got so strong dobe, but I won't underestimate you a second time."

"Really? Then you don't mind if I use my full strength?" Naruto said with a foxy grin.

Then suddenly Naruto moved, his movements blurs as sprinted straight for Sasuke. Grinning as adrenaline flooded his system Naruto feinted another fist to Sasuke's face and Sasuke made to block again, but Naruto suddenly brought his leg up in powerful kick to the Avengers chest, sending Sasuke flying several feet backwards. Not yet finished with his teammate Naruto sped forward, focusing chakra to his legs to increase his speed he reached Sasuke's location in mere seconds and aimed a punch straight at Sasuke's laid out figure on the ground. Sasuke, sensing the attack, rolled over just in time and jumped to his feet, his hands already prepared to block the attack Naruto sent to his head seconds later and his eyes tingling as chakra poured into them.

Naruto's eyes widened slightly as he stared into the sharingan eyes of his teammate. He'd almost forgotten the teme had gotten them in that mission in the wave country. Damn it, now one of his biggest advantages, his speed, had gone down the drain!

Flipping backwards to escape Sasuke's attack range and to give him time to think up a new strategy against the infamous sharingan, he was mildly surprised when Sasuke was suddenly in front of him and just barely managed to duck under the scrunched-up fist that had been heading for his jaw.

Jumping backwards again, buying time while his mind created a winning strategy, he groaned mentally when Sasuke again appeared in front of him and jumped over Sasuke's swinging kick. Using a manoeuvre Naruto had only recently come up with in his weekly spars against his Solid Shadow jutsu, he twisted in the air and swung his leg round so it would connect directly with his teammates cheek. Sasuke however just ducked and grabbed Naruto's leg with both his hands, and with the help of ever-annoying gravity pulled the blonde teen to the ground.

Naruto landed on the grass with a thud and made note of a sharp pain in his tail bone. Ignoring it he turned his attention to the blow coming his way, courtesy of his teme teammate, and almost instinctively he grabbed a handful of dirt and launched it at the Uchiha's face.

Sasuke stumbled back as the dirt blinded his sharingan. Wiping furiously at his face he failed to notice the sound of Naruto climbing swiftly to his feet, the only sign to him that the blonde had moved being the sudden cold touch of a kunai on his neck and the words "I win" spoken rather loudly beside him.

Meanwhile, outside of the adrenaline filled match, Kakashi openly gawked at the level of skill shown by his blonde-haired student. Where had this sudden increase in speed, flexibility and strength come from? Who could've trained Naruto to reach such a skill level? Had Naruto always been like this and he's just failed to notice? At this latter thought guilt ripped through him. He was a sensei, he was supposed to know everything about his students, all their weaknesses and all their strengths, he was supposed to support them and help them become strong enough to achieve their goals. Now, as he thought over all the time he'd spent with team 7, he came to realise he'd hardly ever helped Naruto get stronger, he'd openly ridiculed his goal of becoming the next hokage and what he'd thought he'd known of the boy's strengths and weaknesses seemed to be false, at least judging by his spar with Sasuke.

Kakashi was so caught up in his thoughts of how he had failed as a sensei that he didn't even notice Naruto drop the kunai from its threatening position on Sasuke's main artery. Naruto slipped the kunai back in his weapons pouch then turned on his heel before marching straight over to Tetsu. Stopping a few feet away he placed his hands on his hips and directed an annoying glower at Minato's illusion jutsu.

"Happy now?" he said between clenched teeth.

"Very," Minato replied with a foxy grin.

"Asshole," he growled under his breath before turning his attention towards his sensei. "Hey Kakashi-sensei I beat Sasuke-teme can I have the form for the exams now?"

"Oh yeah sure," Kakashi said in a distant voice as he handed Naruto a form, still thinking over how he'd failed Naruto and how his student could've improved so fast.

"Thanks sensei. Well now I've done me and Tetsu are going to go now, okay?"

Kakashi just nodded dumbly, his single visible eye glazed over as he thought about kami-knows-what.

"Come on Tetsu, we're leaving," Naruto said as he gave Minato an angry stare. Minato, however, didn't notice. He was too busy celebrating the success of his own personal mission.

Mission to get Naruto to drop his mask: successful.


	12. Chapter 12

"So...what are we going to do now? You fancy going to a bathhouse and relaxing for a while?" Minato suggested as he slurped his beef ramen, still hidden behind his Tetsu illusion jutsu. It had been forty minutes since him and Naruto had left the training grounds after Naruto's defeat of Sasuke and they were currently in Ichiraku celebrating Naruto's success by emptying Minato's wallet.

"I can't, they kick me out of bathhouses, and anyhow I've got to get this form signed," Naruto replied as he greedily gobbled down the last remaining noodles in his eighth bowl.

Seeing the sad glint in his sons blue eyes, Minato decided not to press the issue that he wasn't allowed in bathhouses and pushed the anger he felt, anger at those who had hurt Naruto, aside.

"What needs signing?" Minato asked as he gulped down a mouthful of water from the glass beside him.

"I need my guardian's permission, so I need to go see old man and get him to sign it."

"Old man?"

"Yeah, you know old man Hokage? Since I'm an orphan of Konoha he's my guardian," Naruto explained, not noticing the pained look on his companions face when he mentioned his lack of family.

"Well then I'll meet you at the apartment when you've finished."

"Sure," Naruto agreed, rubbing his full stomach contently as he finished his tenth bowl.

"Be careful with it now," Sarutobi, otherwise known as the Sandaime, exclaimed. The two chunin nodded, sweat dripping down their brows as they carried a large satin red cushion on which sat a surprisingly heavy glass ball. They tried not to shake as nervousness overtook them as they approached the Hokage's desk. The Hokage had gone through quite a few of the glass seeing globes in the past years (thanks to a certain over-enthusiastic blonde haired genin) and since these things took a long time to make (eight months to be exact) whenever a replacement arrived it was treated with extreme reverence and care.

The chunin neared the desk and were about to sigh in relief when suddenly the door flew open and a bright orange blur ran in, shocking the already nervous chunin so much that it was no surprise they suddenly dropped the globe, their eyes going wide in fear when they heard it bounce off the cushion and smash into a million pieces.

"Nooo!" the Hokage screamed melodramatically, falling to his knees and banging the floor with his fists, not unlike a petulant child throwing a tantrum, "Not my amazingly beautiful ball-"

"Err, old man? Am I interrupting something?" Naruto's voice stopped whatever Sarutobi was planning on saying. The Sandaime sighed before climbing to his feet, ignoring the cries of protest from his aging bones. "No Naruto-kun, now why have come to see me?" he said as he wiped glass dust of his robes, shooting the chunins still in the room glares which clearly meant 'get out of my sight before I demote you so far down the ranks you'll be sucking your thumbs for the next five years!'

"I need you to sign this form old man, so I can enter the chunin exams," Naruto said, his voice edged with confusion as he watched the chunin flinch under the Hokage's gaze and practically run out of the room, not looking back once.

"Oh right, of course I will Naruto-kun, just bring it over here," Sarutobi said as he walked around the desk and settled comfortably in his chair, resigning himself to the fact he'd have to wait another eight months before he received his new seeing globe.

Naruto nodded and deftly avoided the tiny splinters of glass which covered the floor, handing over his form with a wide grin on his face.

"So, what have you been doing lately Naruto? I haven't seen you in a while," The Sandaime questioned the boy as he signed his name with a flourish of his favourite pen.

"Nothing much, just training," Naruto shrugged, comforting himself with the fact that Minato really didn't count as much...well if you counted harbouring a possible missing-nin in his apartment, the same man who had taught him more than half of what he knew, as 'nothing much'.

"Well make sure you get plenty of rest before the exams, alright? They can be quite tough."

"Rest? Why would I need to rest? I need to train as much as possible old man!" Naruto yelled, slipping into the safe contours of his mask. Though even without the mask he'd probably have said something similar but in quieter tones.

"Of course Naruto-kun, training is always a good thing. But the exams start in only three days and it wouldn't do for you to fall asleep in the written test, would it?"

Naruto, who had been mostly ignoring what the old man was saying, suddenly zoned in on the two words which had always proved his downfall in the past: 'written test'.

"Written test?! What do you mean written test?! There can't be a written test old man! You're joking right?" Naruto shouted hysterically, pulling his hair and generally looking like a raving lunatic. The Sandaime sighed at Naruto's behaviour. He'd 'accidently' slipped and revealed the first part of the chunin exams, hoping to give Naruto a hint that he needed to be prepared, but as always Naruto was panicking at the sound of his two most hated words.

"Do not worry Naruto-kun," Sarutobi assured Naruto, grabbing the boys attention by gently taking hold of his shoulder, "You will do fine as long as you remember one thing."

"And that is?" Naruto said, his voice hopeful.

"Always look underneath the underneath," Sarutobi was pleased to see a look of realization cross Naruto's face as he digested his advice. Naruto grinned foxily, his mind already working overtime analysing how 'underneath the underneath' could be used in the context of a written exam.

"Is there anything else Naruto-kun?" Sandaime inquired as he pulled a pipe from his desk drawer and lit it.

"No old man, I'll see you later," Naruto waved bye half-heartedly, still distracted by his guardian's earlier words.

Fifteen minutes later Naruto was ambling slowly down the road towards his apartment, deftly avoiding any vindictive villagers who aimed to trip him up, his mind still focused on understanding how 'underneath the underneath' could apply to a written test. So absorbed was he in his thoughts that he didn't notice the young boy charging towards him until he was on the floor with a sore backside.

"Naruto nii-san!" the young boy to blame for his fall shouted, "I need your help!"

"What is it now Konohamaru?" Naruto groaned as he clambered to his feet, scowling at his dirtied jumpsuit.

"I need your help finding Ebisu-sensei," Konohamaru said, a pleading look and puppy eyes adoring his face.

"Wait a minute, you want me to help you find Ebisu, not avoid him?" Naruto said, not quite believing his ears. Usually the boy would come to him when he was attempting to hide from his closet-pervert sensei. He'd never actually tried to find him before.

"Yeah he said he'd teach me an awesome new jutsu if I found him!"

"Sorry Konohamaru but that sounds like training to me, I really shouldn't help," Naruto explained, reaching forward and ruffling the boy's messy brown hair; a habit he'd picked up from Minato.

"But Naruto nii-san..."

"No."

"Please?" Konohamaru begged, his bottom lip trembling and his puppy dog eyes coming out full force.

"Grrr! Fine then, I'll help you," Naruto said; he never could resist those puppy dog eyes.

"Yes! So Naruto nii-san where do you think he'll be?" Konohamaru said as he fell into step beside Naruto, who had begun to walk aimlessly down the street.

"Where've you checked so far?"

"Um... his apartment, the park, the academy, grandpa's tower and all the restaurants on the main road," Konohamaru counted the areas on his fingers, a frown marring his face when he realised he hadn't really checked as much places as he could have.

"Did you check the jounin lounge in the Hokage's tower?"

"No, I'm not supposed to go in there," Konohamaru said sheepishly.

"Well I bet he's in there. Just go knock on the door and ask if he's in. If he isn't meet me outside Ichiraku's in forty minutes."

"Where are you going to check Naruto?"

"No where special," Naruto said, shrugging.

Five minutes later the two had separated and Naruto was sprinting across the rooftops towards his designated search area: the bathhouses. It was a long shot, since Ebisu was a closet-pervert, emphasis on the word 'closet', but a pervert was a pervert and there was still a possibility he'd be there.

Naruto reached his destination after another few minutes of running and landed with a small thud beside the fence which blocked the women's bathhouse from prying eyes. Dusting himself off he quickly looked around for his target and quickly spotted him....lying on the floor unconscious several metres from the fence. Naruto would've thought he'd died of blood loss from looking through the fence, if it wasn't for the suspicious lack of blood.

Frowning he marched forward and checked the guys pulse, sighing only slightly in relief when he felt it. Eying the unconscious man he wasn't exactly sure what to do. Sure, he could just pick the man up and take him to Konohamaru, but then he'd be denying his growing curiosity over what could have happened to the closet-pervert.

Deciding his curiosity won out, and that he still had plenty of time before he had to meet Konohamaru, Naruto swiftly examined the area and almost smacked himself for not noticing it, or rather him, earlier.

The person he'd failed to notice was crouched over so one of his eyes was attached to a convenient hole in the fence, his spiky white hair so it long it almost touched the ground and nearly completely hid his red sleeveless jacket from view.

Naruto growled in annoyance; it seemed there was one more pervert in Konoha.

"Hey old man! Did you do this to the closet-pervert?" Naruto yelled, grinning foxily when he heard the squeals of the women behind the fence as they heard the word 'pervert'. No doubt he'd just ruined the stranger's fun.

"You gaki! That was very important research!" the man shouted as he stood up and turned to face Naruto, showing that he wore a dark green long-sleeved shirt under his jacket and he had two red lines on his face running down from his eyes to his throat.

"Who you calling a gaki you pervert?!" Naruto fumed angrily.

"Do you see any other annoying brats around here?!" the man replied loudly.

"Who the hell do you think you are calling me a gaki?!" Naruto yelled, his bright blue eyes shining with fury.

The man surprised Naruto by simply grinning at this question. Seconds later Naruto was on the receiving end of the most irritating and embarrassing introduction he'd ever seen as the man presented himself as the super pervert Jiraiya the Toad Sannin.

"You're weird, you know that?" Naruto said dully when Jiraiya had finished. Bored with talking to the Sannin Naruto bent down to pick up Ebisu and take him to Konohamaru, while mentally hoping being near so many perverts wouldn't rub off on him.

"Hey what do you think you're doing?" Jiraiya said, marching over so he was stood only a few feet from Naruto.

"I'm leaving," Naruto said, grunting under the weight of Ebisu.

"I haven't finished with you yet gaki!"

"Well I've finished with you ero-sennin."

Jiraiya visibly twitched at the nickname but instead of commenting on it he folded his arms and said "You're Uzumaki Naruto right? You're not really what I was expecting."

Naruto felt an indescribable amount of bitterness sweep through him as he snapped back "What?! You were expecting a blood-thirsty demon right? Well sorry to disappoint you, I'll try not to next time!" With those last words Naruto channelled chakra to his legs and was literally a blur as he ran off.

Jiraiya cursed, "Damn it, I didn't mean it like that..."

When Naruto reached his apartment an hour later, after meeting Konohamaru at Ichiraku and handing over his still unconscious sensei, the bitter rage that he'd felt earlier when he'd snapped at Jiraiya hadn't completely dissipated.

Cursing the pervert for ruining what could've been a good day he stumbled up the stairway to his apartment and flung open the door. However Naruto was unsurprisingly totally unprepared for a pair of strong arms to suddenly envelope him in a bone-crushing hug.

"Thank Kami you're back," Minato mumbled into his sons hair, not seeming to care he was turning the boys bones into mush.

Naruto, being the supremely intelligent person he was, simply replied with "W-w-wha?"

Releasing Naruto Minato stood back and placed his hands on the boy's shoulders, bending his knees slightly so he was at Naruto's eye level. "You had me worried Naruto. I thought something had happened to you."

Naruto stared straight into Minato's honest blue eyes then looked at the floor, humbled by the raw emotion he saw within them.

"You don't have to worry about me Minato, I've been on my own all my life and I'm still here," Naruto mumbled, fidgeting under the blonde mans gaze.

"Just because I don't have to worry about you doesn't mean I won't...now come on I'll make us some ramen."

Naruto nodded eagerly and a few minutes later they were both sat at the kitchen table, scoffing down ramen for the second time in less than three hours.

"So where we you?" Minato queried after he'd took his third swallow.

"After I got my form signed I bumped into Konohamaru and he wanted help finding his sensei, so I had to help."

"Anything else?"

"Not really, though I did meet this annoying pervert at the bathhouses."

"Pervert?"

"Yeah, I think he was called Jiraiya, he was a...Minato are you alright?" Naruto asked with worry, since as soon as he'd mentioned Jiraiya Minato's eyes had suddenly become comically huge and he'd begun to choke on his ramen.

"I'm fine," Minato managed to choke out after he'd knocked back a whole glass of water. "You do know who Jiraiya is, don't you?"

"Yeah, some sort of legendary Sannin, right? Well I don't care who he is I'm never talking to him again."

"Naruto, was today the first time you've met him?" Minato said his voice strangely urgent.

"Yeah, why?"

"No reason," 'Except that he's your godfather' Minato added to himself. The familiar feeling of righteous anger on behalf of his son filled him. It seemed Jiraiya, his former sensei and someone who he'd trusted with his life, was another person who had abandoned his son to the hatred of the villagers: 'Another person to yell at when all this mess with Rokai is over' he thought somewhat sadistically to himself.

The next few days passed speedily; training, sleeping and eating ramen seeming to take up all of Naruto's spare time. Naruto had managed to read a whole scroll from Minato, though he'd failed to learn a single jutsu. One helpful bit of advice he'd read in the scroll was 'to always be prepared to go on a long journey' so with Minato's help he'd filled some sealing scrolls with vital supplies, like weapons and food, and slipped them in the pockets of his new trousers.

Yes, that's right, the impossible had happened. Uzumaki Naruto, infamous for his brilliantly blinding orange attire, had _new_ trousers. An entirely new outfit in fact.

The miracle had occurred the day before when Minato had dragged Naruto away from his scroll and given him a lecture on the importance of shinobi being able to blend into their surroundings and camouflage successfully into the terrain, and it was with reluctance that Naruto had agreed that the chances of having to blend into an orange terrain were just about nonexistent.

Minato, much to Naruto's chagrin, had already predicted that Naruto would agree with him and had bought him a new set of ninja clothes, as well as some casual clothes he could wear when he was 'chilling', as Minato put it. Naruto was getting slightly worried that if he ever had to repay Minato for all the stuff he'd bought him he'd easily be paying for a good decade of his life.

Now it was the day of the chunin exams and Naruto was striding purposefully towards the academy in his new outfit. Naruto now wore black trousers with several pockets of all sizes (the largest ones bulging with storage scrolls) and a long-sleeved white t-shirt with the Uzumaki swirl, the same swirl which had once adorned the back of his orange jumpsuit, in burnt orange upon the front. Over his t-shirt he wore a short-sleeved jacket the same colour as the fabric of his headband in a style mildly similar to Shikamaru's. His trousers legs were tucked into white bandages which ended at his ankles and his blue ninja sandals. The only remaining item from his old attire, other than his sandals, was his shinobi headband which still sat proudly upon his head, though it was partly covered by his spiky blonde fringe which Minato had insisted he'd let out. Overall Naruto guessed he looked good, and he was appeased by the fact that Minato had the consideration to put at least a little orange into his clothing.

Naruto strolled through Konoha at a leisurable pace, his cerulean eyes directed at the clear sky above and an excited yet serene smile on his face. Inside nerves tore at him and his own conscious, or was it the fox?, bellowed comments on how weak he was and how he would one day be torn apart and left slowly to rot....yep definitely the fox.

Pushing away Kyuubi's voice and straining not to laugh at the indignant 'Hey!' which resounded through his mind, Naruto continued on his journey and tried to ignore the stares which were coming his way.

Now, Naruto usually had no problem ignoring it when people looked at him as he walked down the street. Except today, not all the looks he were receiving were malicious. Surprisingly many of the older generation he walked past, those about forty or older, were looking upon him with curious and troubled eyes, as if he was a great puzzle which they had just solved. Also, a few glances from civilian girls were extremely hard to ignore since they were eerily similar to the looks Sakura gave Sasuke. He shivered as the forth girl, who was sat outside a small tea shop sipping tea, gave him one of those glances and smiled brightly at him. Between the troubled looks of his elders and the predatory stares from a few of the females Naruto was wondering if he should run home and change back into his old jumpsuit. The hate filled glares which were directed at him were almost welcome...almost.

Naruto had been walking for fifteen minutes and was within five blocks of the academy when he met him. He'd just turned onto a small backstreet full of civilian houses. The only other people on the road were two young children who were sat on a wall playing cards. Happy to escape the business that was Konoha in a morning, Naruto was halfway down the street when the man jumped down from the roof of a house to land about a few yards in front of him.

Naruto stopped in his tracks as his eyes identified the white-haired man.

"Ero-sennin," he acknowledged the Sannin.

"You could be a bit more respectful!" Jiraiya said, his forehead twitching in irritation at the nickname.

"I could, but then that would be boring," Naruto replied smoothly, a foxy grin lighting up his whiskered face.

"Why you little-"

"Look ero-sennin, what do you want? I've got an exam to get to," Naruto said, crossing his arms and rolling his eyes in annoyance.

"I know that gaki. I came to wish you luck."

"Luck?" Naruto said incredulously, "After what you said last time we met you want to wish me luck?"

"Oh yeah, about that Naruto...I didn't mean it like you thought I meant it, when I said you wasn't what I was expecting."

"Oh? Then how did you mean it?"

"I meant that you weren't what Sarutobi-sensei said you were. He said you were loud and not that clever," Naruto mentally made a note to have a word with old man Hokage after the exams, "but when I met you, you seemed totally different....though he did say that he suspected you'd been hiding your true nature," Jiraiya said the last part quietly, his brows creased as if he was troubled, "I'm guessing the guy I met and who I'm talking to now is how you really are?"

"Good guess," Naruto said, "And did you just apologize?"

"Yeah but don't go telling anyone or my reputation will be completely ruined!" Jiraiya stated, dramatically waving his arms about as if to prove his point.

"What, your reputation as a pervert? Anyhow I forgive you, now if you don't mind I've got to get going," Naruto explained.

"Right you've got your exams. Come on then, we should get going."

"We? You're coming with me?"

"Yeah I'm going to walk with you gaki. The bathhouses don't open for another half hour yet so I've got nothing better to do," Jiraiya said with a lecherous grin as he thought of the bathhouses.

"Stupid pervert!" Naruto said grumpily as he continued to walk, now with Jiraiya by his side.

"Hey I'm widely renowned for my intelligence and intellect!" Jiraiya protested indignantly.

"What intelligence and intellect? All I see is a wrinkly old pervert ero-sennin."

"I'm not wrinkly! And I'll have you know that I taught the great and legendary Yondaime everything he knew!"

"Really?" Naruto said, generally interested to know something about the man which had sealed the Kyuubi within him.

"Of course, I've taught several students which have become legends. The only you'll know of is Yondaime though; the others were foreigners."

"Foreigners? So have you taught anyone since the Yondaime?" Naruto asked as they turned onto the road where the academy was situated.

"No, but I am thinking of getting myself a new student."

"A new student?" Naruto inquired, wondering if he knew them and completely failing to notice the odd look Jiraiya was giving him.

"Yes but I need I to convince him first."

"What will you do if he says no?" Naruto said, asking himself who he knew who would be stupid enough to turn down the offer of being taught by a Sannin.

"Oh I'll just annoy him until he gives in," Jiraiya explained his plan with a grin, "I'm very determined to make him my apprentice."

Naruto winced "I feel sorry for the guy." Naruto was about to ask who Jiraiya had his eye on when he was interrupted by a familiar voice to his left.

"There you are Naruto, we were beginning to think you'd decided not to partake in the exam," Kakashi said, his visible eye turned up as he smiled under his mask at his own joke.

"Sorry Kakashi-sensei but ero-sennin here decided to bother me on my way here," Naruto apologized as he shrugged a shoulder in Jiraiya's direction.

"You got to stop calling me that gaki!"

"Jiraiya-sama, it's good to see you in Konoha again. When will the new Icha Icha be out?" Kakashi said eagerly while stroking his precious porn book.

"The Spring if little blonde gaki's didn't always pull me from my research!" Jiraiya said as he glared at Naruto. Naruto just grinned foxily and walked away towards where he saw Sasuke and Sakura stood under a tree near the academy entrance.

"Hi Sakura-chan, Sasuke-teme!" he yelled, running up to them and grinning so widely his eyes scrunched up and he couldn't see. He felt like an idiot grinning so much but he was so excited about the chunin exams (as well as nervous) that he couldn't help it.

When Naruto didn't receive a reply he dropped his grin and looked at his teammates. He was quite surprised to see Sakura openly gawking at him and even Sasuke looked a bit startled.

"What's up guys?" he asked, confused.

"Y-you're wearing a new outfit," Sakura managed to stammer as she fought back a blush, constantly repeatedly the thought 'I'm in love with Sasuke, I'm in love with Sasuke'.

"Oh yeah, I forgot for a moment," he said, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly, "Well do I look good?"

"Yeah," Sakura said quietly, a dreamy look on her face.

"Hn," Sasuke said. Judging by the heated glare he was giving Naruto it was obvious he was still sore about being beaten earlier that week. Naruto and Sasuke quickly engaged in a glaring contest.

"You three really should get going," Kakashi had reappeared while the two teammates had silently competed.

Moving his eyes from Sasuke's to Kakashi's mask covered face Naruto said "What do you think of my new outfit sensei?"

"It's better than your jumpsuit," he said, his eye curving as he smiled.

Naruto frowned "I liked my jumpsuit."

"I'm not saying I didn't. Now get going" Kakashi replied smoothly. Naruto and Sasuke both glared at him while Sakura eyed the building nervously, before they all simultaneously took a deep breath and entered the academy, leaving their sensei outside.

As Kakashi watched, he couldn't stop his eyes from lingering on Naruto and a single thought from entering his mind.

'He looks just like sensei in those clothes'


	13. Chapter 13

"Which room is the chunin exam in?" Sasuke asked the nearest chunin as soon as they entered the academy.

"Room 301, third floor," the chunin, who Sakura recognized as an academy teacher, said as he stumbled passed struggling under a pile of unmarked test papers.

"Okay, let's g-"

"Naruto!" A familiar voice called out from the other side of the hallway and Sasuke scowled at the interruption.

"Hi Tetsu," Sakura said to Naruto's civilian friend as he approached, smiling politely. It surprised her how Naruto could have a friend like Tetsu; he seemed so polite and nice compared to Naruto.

"Yo Sakura!" Minato greeted her though he stayed a few feet away from her in case she suddenly had a mood swing and hit him. "Naruto can I have a word before you go?"

"We haven't got time, the dobe has got an exam," Sasuke answered for Naruto, frowning at Tetsu. For some odd reason, he had a sneaky suspicion that Tetsu was responsible for his crushing defeat at the hands of Naruto earlier that week. He had no proof, but he trusted his instinct and found himself intensely disliking Naruto's friend.

"Stop being a prick teme! We've got time," Naruto said and without waiting for a reply from his teammate he grabbed Minato's arm and dragged him out of earshot.

"What do you want Minato? I really haven't got time, we're late as it is."

"I thought you just told Sasuke you had plenty of time?"

"I said that to tick him off...now what did you want?"

"To wish you luck," Minato said, resisting the urge to ruffle Naruto's hair since it'd look kind of odd to team 7 if Tetsu did something like that, "And I was hoping you'd wear this." Minato dipped a hand in a pocket and pulled out a sparkling silver chain which held a small silver disc engraved with Naruto's initials.

Naruto smiled as he eyed the glittering object, remembering the day when he'd first received it as a birthday present all those years ago, the first time Minato had ever come to visit him.

"I found it in a box under your bed, why didn't you ever wear it Naruto?" Minato asked, straining to keep the sadness from his voice. Didn't Naruto like the chain? He'd had it specially made in Rain Country a few months prior to Naruto's eighth birthday and it'd cost a small fortune- but it was worth it if it made Naruto happy.

"I didn't want to lose it," Naruto explained, "Plus I didn't want anyone thinking I'd stolen it since it looks so expensive."

Minato beamed when he realised Naruto really did like his gift and said "Will you wear it then, for the exams? For luck."

"Sure," Naruto agreed as he gently took the chain from Minato and fastened it easily around his neck. "Thanks Minato. Do you need anything else before I go?"

"There's one more thing I need to tell you," Minato said, a wide grin spreading across his illusions face and his eyes sparkling.

"What?" Naruto questioned, confused at what could have Minato so excited.

Minato cleared his throat and drew himself to his illusion jutsu's full size (which wasn't very much compared to his normal stature). "I, Minato, give you, Uzumaki Naruto, permission to break the promise you made all those years ago on your eighth birthday. From this moment on, you will be allowed to use any jutsu's you know, even the ones you know because of me, in front of whoever you like."

As Minato spoke the grin never left his face and when Naruto understood the significance of what Minato had just said a similar smile lit up his joyful face and he had to forcefully stop himself from enveloping Minato in fierce hug.

"Thanks Minato! That's brilliant...but what if someone asks where I learned it?"

"Just say you read about it in the library and worked out how to do it yourself."

"Okay..." Naruto said, unsure if this excuse would be enough to appease old man Hokage.

"Naruto come on," Sakura yelled as she got impatient from waiting. Beside her Sasuke grunted to show his displeasure.

"Damn I got to go, I'll see you at the apartment when the exams over, okay?"

"Okay...but Naruto, remember, a fight can't be won by simply knowing lots of powerful jutsu...you've got to use your brain Naruto, because even though you're strong, there's always someone stronger." Naruto let the advice sink in before smiling nervously and nodding his head in acknowledgement of Minato's words.

"Good luck," Minato murmured as Naruto rejoined his team, leaving Minato to his warring emotions: pride, because his son was entering the chunin exams, and worry, because there was a chance he wouldn't come out alive.

"What did Tetsu want Naruto?" Sakura asked as they clambered up the stairs.

"Just wanted to wish me luck," Naruto explained as they reached the second floor. "Hey, what's going on over there?"

The team looked along the corridor and saw a large group of people crowding around a door on which the number 301 had been printed. The group were yelling angrily at two others who seemed to be stopping them from entering.

"Room 301? But we're only on the second floor," Sakura said confused.

"It must be a genjutsu," Naruto said, surprising his teammates with how quick he analysed the situation.

"Hn, those two are probably chunin's in henge," Sasuke said, once he got over his shock. It seemed to him that Naruto was getting smarter and stronger every day, and he wasn't sure if he liked it.

"What should we do Sasuke-kun?" Sakura fawned over the Uchiha, fluttering her eyelashes flirtatiously.

Sasuke restrained the urge to roll his eyes at her advances and said "Release the genjutsu." before turning to enter the corridor.

"Of course! Sasuke-kun you're so sm-"

"No," Naruto interrupted Sakura's praise and raised his arm in front of his raven haired teammate, effectively stopping Sasuke from proceeding any further to the fake room 301. Seeing his teammates directing annoyed looks his way he smiled sheepishly and explained himself, "This is probably part of the exam. If they can't see passed the genjutsu then obviously they're not fit to be chunin. Plus letting them fall for it will cut down the competition."

"Don't be baka Naruto, Sasuke-kun is ri-"

"We'll leave them," Sasuke disrupted Sakura's indignant screech and continued walking up the stairs. Naruto grinned; happy that Sasuke, who he thought of as one of his closest friends (even if he was an asshole most of the time), had agreed with him and taken his advice. Naruto was starting to like not having to hide under his mask and made a mental note to thank Minato for it later.

They reached the third floor to find it completely lacking in any type of chunin guard unlike the fake room below. They also found a certain silver haired jounin stood to one side of the door, his mask covered face hidden behind the latest edition of Icha Icha.

"Kakashi-sensei if you were going to come up here anyway then why didn't you walk with us?" Sakura said angrily as she approached him with her hands on her hips.

"So you three made it passed the genjutsu then?" Kakashi said, completely ignoring Sakura, "You got passed it quicker than I expected" Kakashi directed his gaze at Sasuke at his latter words, obviously believing that his genius Uchiha was responsible.

"Hn," Sasuke grunted in acknowledgment of the compliment- if it could be counted as a compliment meant for him, since technically it was the dobe that worked out it was a genjutsu and advised him to leave it.

"What do you want Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto said, thoroughly pissed off. He takes off his mask and Sasuke is still taking the credit for his brains? Naruto made another mental note to ask Minato if it was normal to hate your best friend 90percent of the time.

"Just came to say do your best," Kakashi said his eye curving to show he was smiling under his mask.

"Where's ero-sennin?" Naruto said.

"Ero-sennin?" Kakashi said, bemused.

"Jiraiya," Naruto clarified, rolling his eyes at Kakashi's lack of imagination. What other perverted Sannin were there?

"Oh Jiraiya-sama! He went to complete his research for the next Icha Icha book," Kakashi said with stars in his eye.

"You mean that pervert writes that crap?" Naruto said, a disgusted look plastered across his face. Once again he felt himself feeling sorry for whoever Jiraiya wanted to train. Though he guessed it would be funny if it turned out to be Sasuke.

"Naruto, I'm hurt that you think so badly of my precious Icha Icha," Kakashi cried, anime style tears leaking from his only eye.

"Is that all sensei?" Sasuke said blandly irritated at his sensei's lack of maturity when it came to those weird books.

"Yes," Kakashi said, perking up when he realised how childish he was being, "You can all go in. Oh, and try not to get killed,", and with another annoying little eye smile he disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"I've got to get someone to teach that to me," Naruto muttered under his breath as they entered room 301.

The sight that met team 7 as they stepped into the room was an average sized classroom practically bursting at the seams it was so full of people. Different shinobi nations were bunched together at different intervals of the room and a silence so thick it could be cut by a knife hung in the air. Almost immediately Naruto felt eyes on him and glanced up to meet the teal gaze of the Sand nin Gaara.

Gaara of the Sand was annoyed. He was stood beside his older brother Kankuro, who was eying him fearfully, and hadn't moved from the same position in more than half an hour. He didn't particularly mind just standing still, given that that's what he did when he fought, but he hadn't killed a single person since he arrived in Konoha and Mother was getting thirsty. He wondered briefly if he should just please Mother and go on a killing spree. Before he could come up with a response to his own thoughts he heard the door creaking open and turned to see who else he would have the pleasure of killing later in the exam.

However, when Gaara saw a familiar head of spiky blonde hair he nearly took a step back as an unfamiliar feeling washed over him. What was it? Bloodlust? No, bloodlust never caused him to react like that. His heart didn't hurt like it had those many years ago when he was still a child, so it couldn't be sadness.

As the blonde looked up to meet his gaze with orbs of glittering cerulean blue Gaara suddenly realised exactly what he was feeling: Fear. He was frightened of the blonde boy. And Gaara knew exactly why he felt such an irrational emotion when he looked upon the Konoha shinobi.

The night after his first encounter with the blonde he'd been sat on the roof of his hotel looking upon the streets of Konoha as they shone silver under the gaze of a full moon. Mother had awoken after sleeping for several days and demanded blood. To appease her, Gaara told her all that had happened during the hours she had slept and informed her of how many people he would kill for her in the next few days.

Strangely, when he told her of his meeting of the idiotic blonde, Mother had begun to yell, her screeches echoing in his mind, warning him to stay away from the blonde. When Gaara questioned her she told him to just follow his orders, but later had told him that the blonde held the most powerful of demons, the Nine-tailed Fox Kyuubi. She told him that the blonde was much stronger than him, and that he should avoid a fight at all costs.

Now, several days later, his Mother's words were repeating in his mind as he looked into azure eyes. He had never met someone more powerful than him. He had thought it impossible that someone like that could exist. Now he knew the blonde teen on the other side of the room could beat him, a strange mixture of panic and fear coursed through his veins as the thought that he could die in this exam finally hit him with the force of a sledgehammer.

Kankuro was eying his brother uneasily when the red-head took a quick step back and fell backwards towards the wall behind him. Kankuro successfully resisted the urge to catch his sibling; it was safer if he let him fall. Temari, however, had no such inhibitions and clutched Gaara's hand, pulling him upwards before he could hit his head.

"Gaara are you alright?" she whispered, ignoring the curious looks her team were receiving from the rest of the room.

"I am fine Temari," Gaara assured her, though his voice shook a bit. He didn't want to die. He didn't mind killing in cold-blood but the thought of his life ending scared him beyond belief.

"Is it...Shukaku?" Temari said nervously. Kankuro glanced sharply at his sister, then at his brother, before moving further away. Noticing his movements Temari glared at him angrily and said "We're his family. Get here and help."

Kankuro gulped and thought briefly which would be more painful; ignoring his sister and inciting her wrath or helping his brother and possibly become nothing but a blood splatter on the floor. Shivering as memories of the last time he'd got Temari mad flooded him mind he decided he'd rather be a puddle of blood than go through _that _again and he anxiously went to help his sister pull his brother to his feet.

"What's wrong Gaara? Are you ill?" Temari said, checking him with her eyes as she looked him up and down.

"I am fine Temari," Gaara repeated before peeking a look at the Kyuubi container. The boy was now among the group of Konoha nin, a disinterested expression across his face as he watched two girls play tug of war with the boy Gaara knew was Uchiha Sasuke.

"Kankuro, Temari," The two directed their attention to Gaara as he called their names, "The blonde Konoha shinobi. Stay away from him." Gaara wasn't exactly sure why he was warning his siblings but he knew he didn't want to see them dead.

"The one with the scars on his face?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because he's dangerous."

Kankuro and Temari both started at this and eyed the blonde across the room apprehensively. If _Gaara_ was afraid of him, then just _what_ was he?

Naruto only held Gaara's gaze for a few seconds, but he still quivered like a frightened child on the inside. Surprisingly, Gaara had broken eye contact first when he had stepped back and nearly collapsed; Naruto would've been worried for the redhead if he didn't find him so intimidating. Gaara's eyes on first appearance were emotionless, but Naruto, thanks to years of practise, could see straight through Gaara's barrier to the world and see the sadness, heartbreak, anger and desperate loneliness that lurked beneath.

What scared Naruto the most was that he recognized the emotions flying through Gaara's head; the emotions were his own. Most of Naruto's loneliness had been destroyed as he surrounded himself with friends but in the furthest recesses of his mind a reflection of Gaara lurked, ready to envelope Naruto in depression any minute. Naruto knew that somehow Gaara was like him, he knew that Gaara was what he would have become if Minato and team 7 hadn't dragged him out of his misery.

"Hey deadlast!" a familiar voice shouted out to him. Naruto was surprised to see that he'd walked over to where the rest of the rookie 9 were stood without even realising it.

"Yo Kiba," Naruto replied, grinning. "How've you been?"

"Forget about Kiba! What are you wearing?" Ino yelled incredulously as she examined Naruto's new attire.

"Err...a new outfit," Naruto said uncertainly, not sure how he was supposed to answer a question like that.

"I...I...I th-think Naruto-kun l-looks v-very h-h-handsome," Hinata mumbled nervously as she pushed her fingers together, a small blush adorning her pale face.

"Forget handsome! He looks downright gorgeous! If only my heart didn't belong to Sasuke-kun," Ino exclaimed, earning a heavy blush from Naruto, her voice turning dreamy as she mentioned her dear Sasuke-kun's name.

"Forget it Ino-pig! Sasuke loves me!" Sakura screeched as she seized Sasuke's arm. Sasuke, who had been attempting to back off slowly as soon as Ino had said his name, nearly fell over from the weight of Sakura on one of his arms. Naruto nearly laughed out loud at the terrified expression on Sasuke's face as Ino clutched his other arm and the two girls began to tug him between them, but managed to school his face into a disinterested expression when Sasuke shot him a glare.

"Troublesome," said Shikamaru's familiar voice. The lazy cloud watcher was leant against the wall, his hands folded behind his head and his eyes closed, almost as if he was sleeping.

"These girls are too loud," Chouji said as munched on a bag of potato chips.

"Be thankful we're not stuck in a room full of nervous and potentially dangerous foreign genin...oh wait we_ are_," Naruto said sarcastically, not missing the weak killing intent the rest of the room was projecting at them.

As if on cue a silver-haired teenager, notably a few years old than the rookies, with a headband bearing the Konoha symbol stepped forward. Pushing his circular glasses back he said "You might want to quiet down if you don't want to be attacked before the exam has even begun."

Sakura's and Ino's widened at this and they snapped their mouths shut. Sasuke took this opportunity to wrench his arms free and strode over till he was stood in front of the silver-haired leaf nin.

"And you would be?" Sasuke said in his usual angst my-life-sucks tone of voice.

"Kabuto," He lifted his arm as if to shake hands with Sasuke, but dropped it quickly when he saw the look on Sasuke's face.

"We don't need your help," Sasuke retorted, smirking, "We can look after ourselves."

"You're all rookies aren't you?" Kabuto said, ignoring Sasuke's last words, "I can help you if you like. Give you a fair chance. I've already took this exam seven times and I've gathered information on all the participants."

"Seven times?" Sakura said incredulously, "Is it that hard?"

"It's very difficult, especially for you new genin. So, do you want my help?"

Sasuke seemed unsure, but then reluctantly nodded his head. Any advantage was welcome. Kabuto grinned and pulled what appeared to be a normal deck of cards from under his shirt.

"Name two people you'd like to know about."

"Gaara of the Sand," Sasuke said almost immediately.

"Anyone else?"

Sasuke turned slightly and glanced straight at Naruto, before saying "Uzumaki Naruto."

The rookie nine openly gaped at Sasuke's second choice. Why would Sasuke be interested in Naruto? They were teammates; surely they knew everything about each other already?

"Okay...Gaara first," Kabuto pulled a card from the deck and a light blue glow surrounded his hands. The chakra, for that's what the glow was, quickly coated the card and gradually information began to appear.

"Right, Gaara of the Sand...wow this is quite impressive for a genin."

"What?" Sasuke snapped, though his face remained emotionless.

"He has a record of completing 1 A rank mission, 8 B rank missions, 19 C rank and 2 D rank. His teammates are Kankuro and Temari, who are also his older siblings. His sensei is unknown. He's also the son of the Kazekage." As Kabuto spoke the rest of the rookie's gathered around him, except for Shikamaru who just continued to laze against the wall.

"Son of the Kazekage?" Shino said, shocking most of the rookie's since hearing him speak was quite rare, "He must be very skilled"

"His mission count is very impressive. I would probably avoid him if I was you, being the rookie's you are," Kabuto advised, seeming to not notice the glares he was getting from the young Konoha nin in response to his constant references to how weak they were compared to the other participants.

"The other was Uzumaki Naruto right? Well...let's see...." Naruto inched forward, subconsciously holding his breath. What if Kabuto knew about his true skills? If he did the consequences could be disastrous. He may have begun to gradually remove his mask of weakness but he didn't know how he'd act if everyone suddenly knew how strong he was and how much he'd been hiding.

"Nothing much to say...an orphan, part of team 7, teammates Haruno Sakura and Uchiha Sasuke, sensei Hatake Kakashi, completed 22 D rank missions and 1 B rank," Naruto sighed in relief as Kabuto read out his card.

"Nothing else? Anything about his jutsu's?" Sasuke asked. He knew Naruto was stronger than he let people believe; if he wasn't how did he beat him?

"He has no favoured ninjutsu style and sticks to academy taught jutsu. His taijutsu is below average and genjutsu is practically non-existent. He barely passed the genin exam and was the deadlast of his year. Oh, but this is interesting...appearance suggests he may be a relation of a powerful clan thought to be extinct."

"What?" Naruto shouted and grabbed the card from Kabuto, all thoughts that didn't relate to the fact he might have family out there swept from his mind. He swiftly scanned the card and found a small note made in neat handwriting at the bottom.

_Spiky blonde hair blue eyes – Namikaze?_

"Powerful? I've never heard of them," Kiba snorted as he read the note over Naruto's shoulder.

"Kabuto," Naruto said, ignoring Kiba, "None of this information on this card is useful. Allow me to dispose of it for you." Before Kabuto could object Naruto had whispered something and the card instantly turned black and disintegrated. The genin stared in shock at the small pile of ash on the floor that seconds before had been Naruto's ninja info card.

"How...?" Kabuto gasped; no one should be able harm his cards as they were full of his own chakra, not to mention countless chakra shields.

"Let's just say your card wasn't completely accurate when it described my jutsu," Naruto said quietly so only Kabuto could hear. Sasuke, however, caught it since he was closest to Kabuto and smirked. So Naruto really was hiding something.

"Where did y-" Kiba began to question Naruto's jutsu when a loud voice suddenly echoed through the room, gathering the attention of all the shinobi.

"QUIET!"

A silence quickly descended and all eyes immediately went to the source of the yell.

The man was tall and muscular, was wearing a long black jacket and the top of his head was hidden by his Konoha headband as it was being used a bandana of sorts. The man glared at the shinobi before him and many began to shiver as his killing intent reached them.

"Be silent!" he barked, "I am Ibiki and I am your first examiner!"


	14. Chapter 14

"Congratulations - you all pass."

Immediately the room erupted in cries of outrage. The genin had just spent the last hour gruelling away at an impossible test, only to find out that the last question, the one that had caused more than half of the participating teams to chicken out, didn't exist.

Naruto rolled his eyes as Kiba yelled obscenities, resisting the urge to groan aloud at the stupidity of the first exam. Ibiki had arranged them all into a seating plan in a huge classroom, making sure to put team members at opposite sides of the room, before handing out test papers. He then proceeded to give a cryptic speech about the rules, and it had taken Naruto around five or ten minutes to use old man Hokage's advice ('to look underneath the underneath') and to work out the true meaning behind the test.

The true meaning had been to cheat – and not get caught. Naruto thought it might be some sort of test to see if the genin had good enough analysing and information gathering skills to become chunin. The meaning to the last question had eluded him however, but now that he thought back to it he supposed that it was meant to test if you would put the well-being of your team before your own, therefore test teamwork.

When Naruto had first realised what the true purpose of the test was he'd mentally cheered in happiness over the fact that Minato was allowing him to use the jutsu from the scrolls. Thanks to Minato he knew the perfect jutsu for information gathering: Spider Spy no jutsu.

Spider Spy no jutsu did just what the unoriginal title suggested. It created a tiny spider out of dust and dirt particles in the surrounding area which would then spy and record information. Once destroyed the information would be sent directly to the mind of the jutsu user. Naruto didn't entirely understand the mechanics of the jutsu, something to do with using chakra to scan for residual energy, but he'd learnt the hand-signs and the basic principle and could use the spider effectively – even without knowing how the spider gathered the information.

Naruto had used the jutsu, performing the five hand-heals under the desk, to learn the answers for six out of the nine questions. He didn't attempt to find the answers for more than that as he deemed it pointless according to Ibiki's point system. He'd also got his spider to check on Sakura and Sasuke; unsurprisingly Sakura had no trouble answering the questions and didn't need to cheat while Sasuke had used his sharingan to copy from a boy sat in front of him.

Now the test had ended Naruto half-heartedly scanned the room, counting the remaining competition, only barely listening to Ibiki as he explained the true purpose of the test to those truly idiotic enough not to have realised it.

At the beginning of the chunin exam there had been about 70 teams of genin participating – now Naruto counted thirty. More than half of the competition had been wiped out in the first exam. As he examined the remaining genin his eyes met the teal green of Gaara's and he was surprised when the redhead looked away immediately. Shrugging and promising to himself that he'd work out what exactly was Gaara's problem he continued looking over the other teams.

Surprisingly all the Konoha nin, including the rookie 9, Kabuto's team and another team that Naruto didn't recognize, had got through the exam. But then again it wasn't really that surprising that no Konoha nin had failed so far since Konoha's shinobi were legendary for following the 'Will of Fire'. If a shinobi had a Will of Fire it was literally near impossible to stop them.

Naruto was distracted from his ponderings by the sound of glass smashing. He turned around in time to see a ball of cloth explode open into a sign which declared that 'Anko the Greatest Shinobi has arrived!' Stood in front of the sign was a woman with short purple hair and a crazed gleam to her eyes - Most of the males in vicinity however failed to notice anything about her above her neckline, as her clothes left little to the imagination. Naruto was pleased with himself for resisting the urge to ogle the woman like his fellow male genin.

"Anko has arrived!" the woman said with her hands on her hips, "Heya weaklings! I'm your second examiner!"

Anko looked over the room and frowned. "There's nearly half left Ibiki. You were too easy on them."

Naruto turned his sights to Ibiki and resisted the urge to laugh when his heightened senses heard the man grinding his teeth together angrily.

"We have an admirable bunch this year Anko. Many have the potential to become chunin," Ibiki explained stiffly.

"Really?" she said, "They look like a load of sissy's to me."

Many of the genin looked severely annoyed at this and Kiba was about to complain when Anko spoke again.

"Weaklings; the second exam has begun! Meet me at training ground 51 in an hour. Anyone who's late will be immediately disqualified."

There were several seconds of stunned silence before Anko yelled "Well what are you waiting for! Get going!" before she jumped back out of the window, taking the sign with her.

As soon as Anko was gone the room erupted into chaos as people surged to join their teammates and to work out how to get to training ground 51, since most of the participants were foreigners and had no idea where anything in Konoha was.

Naruto remained in his seat with his arms crossed on the desk and a bored expression on his face. Unlike the other genin Naruto knew exactly where training ground 51 was since he'd gone there to practice Minato's jutsu - the training ground had received a fierce reputation as the location of the Forest of Death, so the chances of anyone discovering him there were extremely low.

"Naruto! What are you doing? We've got to go," Sakura's voice said and Naruto turned in his seat so he was facing her. Sasuke was stood next to her with her arms crossed and the ever-familiar smirk plastered on his face.

"Actually Sakura we've got plenty of time. Training ground 51 is only a forty minute walk from here, so we can relax for a while," Naruto explained.

"You know where it is?" Sakura said incredulously.

"Yeah, it's not too far from my apartment. I can get you there well within the hour. However..." Naruto said thoughtfully, his brow creasing as if he was working something out.

"Training ground 51 is made up mostly of forest land, so obviously the next exam has something do with the forest," he mumbled to himself, a glazed look coming to his eyes as he completely forgot about his surroundings and thought aloud, "If it's in a forest it's most likely a survival exam of some sort. I'm all set to last in a forest for about five days...."

Naruto hands automatically went to the pockets where he was keeping his sealing scrolls and his teammates, who were listening to him with growing shock at the obvious display of intelligence from the supposed-to-be dumb boy, watched him attentively.

"...but Sasuke and Sakura probably aren't. They're going to need food, chlorine pills, weapons, clean clothes, first-aid kits, maybe some soldier pills and obviously a few sealing scrolls..."

Sasuke and Sakura's eyes widened even further as they absorbed Naruto's mutterings. Sasuke, who had suspected Naruto had been hiding how strong his jutsu were, was surprised to realise Naruto had also been hiding his intelligence. He fought down his anger at this – he was supposed to be the smart strong team member, not the dobe!

"...we could separate and they could go get the supplies from their homes, but then we'd have to rush to training ground 51 and we can't risk getting disqualified. We could always just risk the forest with only my supplies, but then again having our own supplies instead of sharing would be a definite advantage over the other teams and if we get separated somehow we'd be well-equipped..."

Across the room Ibiki was gathering test papers while paying close attention to the blonde. He was mildly surprised at what the blonde was saying – the rumours were that the Kyuubi-container was idiotic, loud and generally a rubbish shinobi, but by listening to the boy it was obvious he was anything but what the rumours said.

"...so Sasuke and Sakura need to get supplies somehow. But how are we supposed to get them kitted out in less than half an hour? It takes half an hour to get to the training ground from here running. Hmm..."

Naruto trailed off, the thoughtful look still on his face. Sakura, thinking that Naruto had finished thinking aloud, was about to speak when Naruto suddenly grinned and yelled "Key Summons jutsu!"

"Err...Naruto?" Sakura said when Naruto suddenly stood up and faced the table.

"Yes Sakura?" Naruto said, too focused to add the customary 'chan'.

"You do know you were just thinking aloud right?"

Naruto halted what he was doing and his eyes widened in disbelief. How could he be so _stupid_? He was supposed to be lowering his mask slowly not all in one go!

"W-was I really?" he stammered as he turned to face his teammates with a nervous grin on his face and rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

"Yeah you were dobe," Sasuke said, "Since when were you anything but an idiot?"

Naruto was too nervous to respond to Sasuke's jibe, but he made a mental note to seek payback at the next opportunity.

"Err it came overnight?" Naruto said the fake grin still on his face.

"Naruto-baka!" Sakura said, rolling her eyes and resisting the urge to hit her blonde teammate. "Tell us the truth!"

"Err...the truth?" Ibiki, who was still listening, moved closer so he could hear the blond's words, "Well...you see...maybe...umm...." Naruto mumbled.

"Naruto!" Sakura said sharply, glaring threateningly at the blonde.

"Okay okay Sakura!" he said, holding his hands up in a gesture of surrender, "The truth...well maybe...just maybe of course, I might be lying...I'm a _bit _smarter than I let on."

"A bit?" Sakura said, not believing her ears. Had Naruto been lying to them all this time? Had he been acting like an idiot on purpose? But no he couldn't have! He'd been an idiot in the academy too! But what if he'd been lying then? Why would he lie in the first place?

Naruto, seeing the questioning and curious looks he was getting from Sakura and Sasuke, broke free from the chains of his nervousness and said "Look guys we haven't got time for twenty questions. We have only 50 minutes to get you guys equipped and to get to the training grounds. We can talk about this after the exams okay?"

Sakura, realising that Naruto was right, said "okay". Sasuke just nodded his agreement.

"Good!" Naruto said, relieved. He turned back to the table and, ignoring the curious looks he could feel knocking into his back from the direction of his teammates, speedily completed a sequence of seven hand seals before slamming his right hand onto the table.

"Key Summons no jutsu!" In response to his words there was a puff of smoke similar to when you pop a kage bunshin. Slowly the smoke shifted to reveal four scrolls where Naruto had placed his hand.

Naruto picked them up and gave two each to his teammates while explaining "These are sealing scrolls. To open them you just focus chakra into them. Inside each are basic supplies and there should be enough in there to last for a while. Unfortunately there's no clean clothes fit for you guys inside since these are from my apartment."

"You..._summoned_ these from your apartment?" Sakura said as she tucked away her own two scrolls.

"Yeah, I made lots a few days ago so I would be ready for any future missions," Naruto said truthfully, still grinning about using the Key Summons successfully. He'd only learned the jutsu the day before and hadn't had time to practice it before Minato had dragged him off to bed (the man was acting more and more like a father figure everyday and Naruto wasn't sure whether he liked it or not).

"Well now that's sorted out let's get going! We've wasted fifteen minutes."

Ibiki watched team seven as they left through the door, his face emotionless. He continued to gather the test papers but decided that once he'd finished he'd report straight to the Hokage about what he'd overheard about Naruto. He was sure he wouldn't be the only one surprised by Naruto's 'secret intelligence'.

As Ibiki reviewed what he'd learnt, one question floated from the depths of his mind.

'Just what else is Naruto hiding?'

Ten minutes before the hour was set to run out team seven arrived at the edges of the forest, which was surrounded by a metal fence, at training ground 51. They were surprised to see that only fifteen teams were there, meaning there was a good chance some teams would be disqualified just for being late. Naruto was pleased to see that the entire rookie nine were there and nervous to see Gaara and his team there too. Anko was nowhere to be seen.

"Uchiha Sasuke," a voice said from behind them. Team seven turned to see a team of Konoha nin that facing them. The one who had spoken was a boy with long dark brown hair and oddly pale eyes. To his left was a girl with her hair in two buns and wearing Chinese style clothing, and to his right was a weird looking boy with black hair cut into a bowl shape, big circular eyes and wearing green _spandex_. Naruto shuddered at the sight and swiftly looked away.

"Yes?" Sasuke said, raising an eyebrow in question.

"I'm Hyuuga Neji," Sasuke's eyes narrowed slightly – the Hyuuga and the Uchiha were longstanding rivals, and even though Sasuke was the only remaining Uchiha in Konoha the rivalry was still something he had to uphold – for the Uchiha honour.

"Hyuuga," Sasuke said simply, a smirk on his face.

"Uchiha," Neji said a similar smirk adorning his face, "I look forward to beating you in the exam."

"The same to you" Sasuke said, successfully resisting the urge to say 'ditto' as that would be distinctively immature.

"Stupid clan rivalries," muttered Naruto under his breath while rolling his eyes.

"This is very youthful!" the spandex boy said, "Gai-sensei would be proud of you Neji!"

Seeing no one was going to introduce themselves the bun-haired girl sighed and said "I'm Tenten, and the guy with the weird hair cut is Rock Lee."

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto and the girl with the pink hair is Haruno Sakura," Naruto said.

"I remember you Naruto-kun!" Lee suddenly said, grinning so brightly his teeth actually _shone_, "I have seen you training! You are very strong! Maybe if I am lucky I will be able to fight against you in the exams!"

Neji, who had been having a glaring contest with Sasuke, turned to stare at Naruto when he heard Lee's words. Lee, although a complimentary person in general, only called people who were level with him strong. If he remembered correctly, after hearing about Sasuke, Lee had called the Uchiha strong. Neji was intrigued therefore since Lee had called the blonde genin across from him '_very _strong'. Was it possible that this Uzumaki Naruto was stronger than Sasuke?

"You've seen me training?" Naruto said, worried. Had Lee seen him training with Minato's jutsu?

"Yes several times. I sometimes train at the waterfall near where you train in the forest. You are very powerful for a genin. Hopefully we will be able to fight in the exam."

Sasuke and Sakura turned to face Naruto, both wondering when exactly Naruto trained in the forest and just how many secrets Naruto was keeping from them.

"So you've seen some of my ninjutsu then?" Naruto asked.

"Only a few Naruto-kun, mostly I saw you practicing with your kunai. But do not worry I promise not to tell anyone about your jutsu! That would create an unfair advantage!"

Tenten groaned at this, cursing Rock Lee for not realising that this was a competition and any advantage was better than none. Tenten was about to point this out to Lee when a shout suddenly silenced all conversation.

"Time's up weaklings!"

All the teams present, which were all those who had passed the first exam excluding two, turned to look in Anko's direction. The woman was stood in front of the forest with a wide grin on her face.

"Behind me is the Forest of Death. It is called this because many people have been killed by the dangerous animals which live inside or have got lost and perished from starvation. The second exam will take place inside the Forest of Death" she explained, seemingly pleased about the fact that most of the genin were now looking in fear at the forest behind her.

"The exam is this. Listen closely because I won't explain this again weaklings!" she yelled, "Each person will first have to go to the tents" she waved a hand towards several tents a few metres away from her, "and sign a contract before you can take part in this exam. If you do not sign this contract you are disqualified from the exam"

"What's the contract about?" one brave genin shouted.

"The contract" she said, a sadistic look adorning her features, "is to ensure that if any of you weaklings die Konoha won't get the blame"

Mutterings broke out at this as the genin expressed their nervousness to their teammates. Team 7 remained silent, though Naruto noted that Sakura looked scared.

"Shut up!" Anko shouted, effectively quietening the genin, "Stop whinging you weaklings! If you're not prepared to die in your career as a shinobi than you're too cowardly to be a chunin! After you have signed the contract each team will be given one of these scrolls"

Anko pulled two scrolls, one black and one white, from the pockets in her coat.

"In order to pass the exam you must have a black scroll and a white scroll, and deliver both scrolls to the tower in the centre of the forest. If you show up at the tower missing a teammate and if you open any of the scrolls you will fail. There is also a three day time limit"

Naruto listened intently to Anko's explanation, memorizing it to the last detail. It was obvious that they'd have to fight another team in order to get both scrolls as well as avoid any dangerous animals.

"Once you've signed the contract go to a gate along the fence. When you hear a siren call the exam begins and you enter the forest. Got it weaklings?"

When everyone had nodded she pulled out a kunai and licked the edge, earning disbelieving glances from the watching genin. Grinning she threw the kunai into the crowd. It hit a tree a centimetre from a grass nin, slicing off one of the nins hairs.

Smiling sadistically she yelled "Well get going!"

Naruto couldn't believe it. They'd only been in the forest for about seven hours and he'd already lost his teammates when a freak wind had blown him away from them. To make matters worse a giant snake had appeared out of nowhere and tried to eat him.

Naruto was now quite worried, since once he'd burnt the snake to a crisp it had disappeared with a puff of smoke, meaning the serpent was a summons. And no genin should be able to summon such a big animal. Something wasn't right.

Cursing he landed on a branch and growled to himself as he pulled a kunai from his weapons pouch, ready to defend himself if an opposing team decided he was easy prey. Leaning against the tree he tried to think of a quick way to find his teammates, his hand instinctively going to the pocket where he had the black scroll they'd received disguised as a storage scroll. Sasuke, much to Naruto's surprise, had said that Naruto should have it since he carried a lot of storage scrolls in his pockets so he could hide it easier.

Frowning Naruto analysed the situation: he was in the middle of a dangerous forest without his teammates. He needed to find his teammates as soon as possible since there was someone in the forest pretending to be a genin who clearly wasn't. Also, the fact that the snake was a summons and had attacked Naruto exclusively meant that the creature had been summoned specifically to go after him. That also meant it was likely that the freak wind which had separated them hadn't been an accident. His teammates were clearly in danger and needed to be found fast.

But what could he do to find his teammates swiftly? If he could search two places at the same time it would certainly make things quicker...of course!

Naruto grinned and moved his hands into a single hand seal before saying "Kage bunshin no jutsu". The Kage bunshin had been one of the first jutsu's he'd learnt from Minato's yearly scrolls and he didn't use it often, usually only when he wanted to learn a jutsu twice as fast.

There was a puff of smoke and six Naruto's appeared along the branch that the real Naruto was stood on.

"Search for Sasuke and Sakura. If you find them pop yourself immediately. No stupid heroics!" Naruto ordered, glaring at his kage bunshins as they had been disobedient before.

"Yes sir!" they chanted, before they sprinted off in different directions.

---With Sakura and Sasuke---

"Really Sasuke-kun, I was hoping you'd be more of a challenge than this" the man said in a tone that made Sasuke think of slime and things best left untouched.

Sasuke glared at the man, wanting nothing more than to kill him. The man had appeared out of nowhere in the guise of a female grass nin and had begun attacking just after Naruto had vanished. He'd used jutsus which a genin shouldn't know and had taunted Sasuke with jibes about him being far too weak to defeat Itachi. Sasuke had swiftly gotten angry and activated his sharingan. They had fought for a while, and even though he was easily outclassed Sasuke had somehow managed to slice at the man's face.

It was then though that they'd discovered the female was a man in a mask. The man had white skin and slit eyes like a snake, and kept licking his lips with a tongue which was abnormally long. Sasuke had been too shocked to attack and the man had used this time to cast some sort of paralysis jutsu on him and Sakura.

Sasuke and Sakura were now at the man's mercy and Sasuke hated himself for wishing that Naruto was there.

"You are pathetic Sasuke-kun," the man said, smirking at the black-haired boy, "You are a disgrace to the Uchiha name."

Sasuke growled in fury. He knew he was being an idiot letting the enemy anger him like this but he couldn't help it. He wanted to rip the man apart for saying such things!

"Sasuke isn't pathetic," a weak voice said from behind the young Uchiha. Sasuke's eyes widened as he recognized the voice as Sakura's.

"H-he's st-strong...h-he c-could beat y-you easily," The pink-haired shinobi struggled to speak against the paralysation jutsu, determined to get her point across.

"Really?" the man taunted, "Fine then, attack me with all you've got Sasuke-kun!"

Sasuke stopped himself from toppling over when the paralysation jutsu was suddenly lifted. He glanced behind him to check Sakura was okay (she was leant against the trunk of the tree staring at the snake man with wide frightened eyes) before pulling several kunai from his weapons pouch and throwing them at the man.

The man sidestepped the weaponry but the kunai simply turned in the air and headed towards him again, guided by chakra string attached to Sasuke's fingertips. The string wrapped around the man binding him in place. Smirking, Sasuke threw another kunai aiming straight for the man's heart. The kunai struck its target and Sasuke was about to turn to check on Sakura again when the man dissolved into mud straight in front of his eyes.

Before he could even wonder what had happened Sakura suddenly yelled "Sasuke! Look out behind you!"

Sasuke flipped forwards instinctively, barely escaping being stabbed by one of the man's kunai. Skidding backwards on the branch so he was stood a meter in front of the pile of mud which had been the man only a few seconds before, Sasuke examined the situation.

He and the man had now switched positions. He could use a ninjutsu, but all of his ninjutsu were fire jutsu and if he missed he would hit Sakura who was sat only a few meters away from the man. He could use kunai, but again he could miss and hurt Sakura.

Sasuke still had no clue what to do when the man grunted and took a step forwards. Frowning he reached behind his back and pulled out a kunai.

"Stupid girl..." he hissed before he dissolved into mud, just like the previous one. Behind the mud figure Sakura had her arm outstretched in a way that showed she'd just thrown the kunai straight at the man's back.

"If that's a fake one too, where's the real one?" Sasuke said to himself and he began to frantically look around.

"Above you!" Sakura shouted. Sasuke quickly looked up to see the man stood upside down on a branch above him. The man opened his mouth and a huge snake shot out headed straight for Sasuke.

Sasuke speedily drew another kunai and when the snake was about to hit him he dodged to the side and stabbed the snake with the kunai and pinned it to the branch. Seeing the snake was still attached to the weird man Sasuke thought fast and moved his hands into the appropriate hand seals before yelling out "Fire: Dragon fire no jutsu!"

Fire shot out of Sasuke's mouth and engulfed the snake before travelling upwards towards the man. The man's eyes widened in alarm as the fire approached him and his hands moved into unfamiliar handseals. In response a gust of wind blew outwards from the man's body and blew out the flames before they could reach him.

Sasuke covered his eyes with his hand to shield himself from the wind as it approached and preyed it wasn't strong enough to slice him straight in two. The wind buffeted against him and pushed him backwards straight into the trunk of another tree. Clutching his stomach the Uchiha was about to slide straight down when he felt something thick and smooth wrap around his torso.

Looking down Sasuke saw a thick black snake was wrapped around him like a rope, holding him in place against the trunk.

"It appears you are stronger than I thought Sasuke-kun," the man said.

Hearing the voice Sasuke glanced up and saw that the man was stood where Sasuke had been before, unharmed and an eerie smirk on his face.

"Since you've been such a good fight Sasuke-kun, how about I give you a gift? But before I do, remember my name. It is Orochimaru."

Sasuke watched in mute horror as the man's neck suddenly stretched and his head shot towards him, the man's jaw wide open to reveal a pair of snake-like fangs. The man moved so fast Sasuke only had time to hear Sakura yell something before he felt the fangs piercing the soft flesh of his neck.

Orochimaru dug his fangs into the Uchiha's pale throat and mentally congratulated himself for following the plan perfectly. At this rate the boy would be his in only a few months. Orochimaru pushed the chakra necessary for the placing of the seal through his teeth and into Sasuke's body. He was about to pull back and examine his work when he suddenly felt something burning at his mouth. His eyes widened in alarm when his chakra was forced back into his body and a new chakra came with it, an evil suffocating _demonic _chakra.

Quickly prying his teeth from Sasuke Orochimaru returned his head to his body. What had just happened? His seal had been rejected, but how? And why did Sasuke have demonic chakra in his body? Orochimaru looked upon his prey and was mildly surprised to see the boy was unconscious. He could just kidnap the boy while he was vulnerable since obviously the seal wouldn't work, but then a future body transfer would be impossible as Sasuke needed to come to him of his own free will.

Before Orochimaru could think over the problem any further he suddenly heard an unfamiliar voice yell "What have you done to Sasuke?!"

Orochimaru ducked just in time to avoid a thrown kunai. What he wasn't expecting was the explosive note attached. It blew up in his face and sent him flying backwards into trunk of a tree. Using chakra to keep him in place the Sannin looked around for his attacker, finally seeing the boy attached to a tree using chakra and forcefully pulling the snake away from Sasuke. The boy had blonde hair, blue eyes and whisker marks on his cheeks, and Orochimaru recognized him as Sasuke's teammate and the Kyuubi-container Uzumaki Naruto.

Naruto stabbed the snake in the brain with his kunai and it disappeared in a puff of smoke. Before Sasuke could fall Naruto grabbed him and jumped onto the branch where Sakura was, landing in front of her. Placing Sasuke on the ground he turned to face the man who he'd attacked, a man he had read about and a man he knew he couldn't beat.

"What have you done to Sasuke Orochimaru?" Naruto questioned as he shifted into a fighting stance.

"So you know who I am then?" Orochimaru said as he leapt onto the branch, landing about fifteen meters away.

"I've read about you," Naruto said as a way of explanation.

"I'm in books now? I was unaware of this," Orochimaru said casually, a mocking smile on his face.

"Don't get too bigheaded, you're only in one," Naruto said, "It's _Legendary Shinobi: the Good and the Bad_. Perhaps you should read it, see how much of a teme you are."

"Perhaps I will read it," Orochimaru said simply, "Well enough pleasant conversation Naruto-kun, it is time I disposed of you...Snake barrage no jutsu!"

Naruto's eyes widened as hundreds of snakes came pouring out of Orochimaru's mouth and headed straight for him.

"Final Wall no jutsu!" he shouted and a dome of barely visible blue chakra appeared around him and his teammates. The snakes slammed into the dome but didn't break through.

"Sakura, can you move?" Naruto said as a bead of sweat dripped down his forehead.

"I t-think so," Sakura said shakily.

"Good. Get Sasuke and get out of here. I can't keep this barrier up for long."

"But what about you?"

"Don't worry about me Sakura-chan," Although Sakura couldn't see Naruto's face she could tell he was grinning, "I can look after myself. Just make sure you and Sasuke get as far away as possible, okay?"

"But-"

"Sakura," Naruto said, his tone suddenly more serious than she'd ever heard it before, "I can't take this guy when you and Sasuke are here. You'll get in the way. I know you want to help but I can't beat him with you here. Now go!"

Sakura immediately clambered to her feet and grabbed Sasuke's unconscious body. Pushing chakra into her legs she climbed down the tree and disappeared into the shrubbery.

Naruto waited until she'd gone before he dropped the barrier. The last of the snakes reached for him, but engulfed a log instead when he used a replacement jutsu.

"Come out Naruto-kun," Orochimaru called.

In response Naruto jumped out from his hiding place in the leaves above where he'd been standing before and threw three kunai at the man before yelling "Mass kunai no jutsu!"

In seconds the three kunai had duplicated into thirty hurtling towards the Sannin. Orochimaru dodged between them as they reached him, his body flowing like a snake's, and knocked aside a few with a kunai in his own hand.

"You missed Nar-" Orochimaru's taunt was silenced when a kunai embedded in the tree behind him revealed itself to be a henged kage bunshin and stabbed him in the back of the head.

Naruto experienced only a second of celebration before Orochimaru turned into dirt and collapsed onto the tree.

"An earth clone?! Then where's the real Orochimaru?" Naruto said, alarmed.

"Over here Naruto-kun!" the man's hissing voice called and Naruto turned around to see the biggest snake he'd ever seen in his entire life. It was at least twice as big as the one that had attacked him earlier. And stood on its head was Orochimaru, looking unruffled and totally unharmed.

"Do you like my pet?" Orochimaru teased after seeing the horror in Naruto's eyes. "But then again, foxes don't like snakes do they?"

"Shut up," Naruto snarled. How dare he refer to him as a fox?!

"What's the matter Naruto-kun? Don't tell me you know about the kyuubi?" Orochimaru mocked, "And Sarutobi tried so _hard _to keep it a secret from you."

"Shut up!" Naruto yelled, clenching his fists in anger.

"It must be horrible being the scapegoat of Konoha. Do they bully you Naruto? Do they call you names? Freak...monster..._demon_?"

"**I SAID SHUT UP!**" Naruto shouted and his voice was deep and spoken through elongated fangs. His eyes were red slits and his nails were sharp claws, while the whisker marks on his face had deepened. He knew he was angry, too angry, and he could feel kyuubi within him rejoicing at his rage and pushing demonic chakra into his limbs, but he was ANGRY DAMN IT!

Yelling something incomprehensible Naruto charged forward, his movements so fast he was a blur, and tore the snake open with his claws. The snake's blood had barely flowed before it disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"My my Naruto! Such a temper."

Naruto twisted round just in time to receive a powerful punch to his stomach which sent him hurtling backwards into the trunk of the tree. Before he could drag himself from the wreckage of the tree a snake similar to the one which had held Sasuke appeared and tied him in place.

"Ku ku ku Naruto-kun! You should really learn to control your anger," Orochimaru laughed as he smirked evilly, "You just stay there while I go find that annoying pink-haired teammate of yours, okay?"

"**LEAVE MY TEAM ALONE!**" Naruto growled and he felt even more of kyuubi's chakra engulf him, until his entire body was surrounded by the red chakra. Roaring he pushed away from the tree, the snake disintegrating as it came into contact with the demonic chakra.

Naruto dashed forward and swiped at Orochimaru. The snake Sannin moved a bit too slowly and Naruto's claws ripped through the flesh of his left arm. Orochimaru hissed, grabbed his bleeding limb and jumped backwards to avoid another swipe of Naruto's claws.

"It seems I have a wound to attend to," Orochimaru said in a low hissing voice, blood dripping down his arm and onto the wood of the branch was stood on, "We will meet again Naruto-kun."

With those last words Orochimaru stepped backwards into the tree, his body melding into the wood until he disappeared.

"NO!" Naruto roared and lunged forward. He clawed at the tree, digging away at the wood like a wild animal, but with the disappearance of Orochimaru his anger was fading, and with it kyuubi's chakra.

When his nails had returned to normal Naruto stepped back from the scratched remains of the tree. One hand clutching his head as a wave of dizziness swept through him. He could feel his limbs going heavy as exhaustion overtook him and his vision began to dim.

He tried to force his eyes to remain open and his limbs to move but he failed miserably and his legs gave way as he fell forwards onto the tree. The last thing he heard before he slipped into unconsciousness was a distant call of "Naruto!"

That's it for this chapter! Please review!

I know Rokai's the 'baddie' but at the moment I'm kind of happy he's in Sasuke, otherwise Orochimaru would've put that seal on Sasuke!

Anyhow please tell me what you think about Sasuke not having the cursed seal okay? I'm not sure if I wrote it good enough really :(.....my fight scene suck.....


	15. Chapter 15

Sasuke was dreaming.

He was floating in an abyss of dark blue. Everywhere he looked was patterned with odd blue swirls. If the raven had to describe it he'd say it was like a three-year old had been put into the dream world and gone mad with a blue crayon. The squiggly blue pattern was just like the drawings of a child.

Sasuke glanced downwards and reigned in his shock when he realised he was stood on something, but below him there was nothing but the squiggly blue lines. He couldn't make out any walls, a floor or a roof.

Panicking slightly Sasuke raised his pale hand in front of his face and was pleased to see it actually existed. Though it was odd he could see at all since there was no source of light.

Sasuke looked about him, looking for anything other than endless blue scribbles. After several minutes of fruitless searching he shrugged and decided that he'd had worse dreams. Sighing he closed his eyes and tried to recall what had happened before he'd fallen asleep.

"It's the chunin exams..." he said aloud, clutching at the security of his own voice, "Me and Sakura got separated from Naruto...there was a grass nin...she tried to kill me but I dodged and fought back...the nin's face came off..."

As he spoke Sasuke's face creased into an expression of disgust.

"The girl turned out to be a man...a weird man with white skin and a snake fetish...he attacked again...I fought back...Sakura helped but every time I got him he turned into mud...he must've used replacement jutsu with mud clones hidden in the forest..."

Sasuke nodded to himself as he spoke, almost as if he was checking things off on a list.

"I used my fire jutsu but he got me...there was a snake wrapped around me...he said something...his name...Orochimaru..."

Sasuke's forehead wrinkled in thoughtfulness as he pondered whether he knew the name or not. It seemed familiar somehow but the memory was so distant he couldn't drag it to the surface.

"Then his neck stretched and he...he _bit _me!"

Sasuke's hand automatically went to the point on his throat where he'd felt Orochimaru's canines puncture his skin, though he still kept his eyes closed. He sighed in relief when he felt no marks, but then again he was dreaming and it was unlikely that his dream self would have marks from the bite.

"Gross..." Sasuke shuddered as he let his hand drop to his side, not caring about acting mature since no one was around to see him.

"What could he hope to achieve by biting me?" Sasuke asked himself once he'd calmed down. "I could feel his chakra being pushed into my body...it was so powerful..."

For a moment Sasuke dreamed of what he could do with such chakra at his dispense. He could leave Konoha and finally have his revenge and destroy Itachi. Suddenly his fantasies were interrupted when a group of faces appeared in his minds' eye: Kakashi, Naruto and Sakura.

A wave of guilt hit him as his mind flooded with memories. He couldn't leave Konoha. He couldn't leave his team; his friends; his fam-

Sasuke mentally recoiled from the word. He pushed away thoughts of team seven, Konoha and Orochimaru and focused on working out what had happened before he'd found himself in the strange blue world.

"So he bit me..." Sasuke continued his ramblings, his eyes still closed, "And I could feel his chakra being pushed into my body...but before it could _go _anywhere it was pushed back....a third chakra....it was even stronger than Orochimaru's chakra...it felt sickly, wrong somehow, _evil."_

Sasuke spat out the word evil, a look of revulsion spread across his pale face.

"The third chakra...it forced Orochimaru's out of my body...it wasn't mine but it came from me..." Sasuke's bemusement was evident in the tone of his voice. "Then _what _was that third chakra?"

"**That would be me.**"

Sasuke's eyelids shot up and he stared directly into a huge pair of glowering cobalt eyes.

Naruto awoke to the sound of dripping water.

His azure eyes slowly blinked open. He was laid in an inch of water, on his back in a dank metal hallway lit eerily with red tinted light. Above him the roof of the hallway was covered in multi-sized pipes; some skinny and distinctly battered looking, others thick and zigzagging across the roof like huge snakes. An odd musty smell hung in the air - a stench somewhere between old books and damp animals.

When Naruto's befuddled mind had fully absorbed his surroundings, the blonde teen groaned loudly and dragged himself into a sitting position, the expression on his face similar to that of a person who _knew _they were about to get a huge headache.

"What do you want Kyuubi?" Naruto's shout ricocheted off the metal walls and echoed long after Naruto's mouth had shut.

There were several seconds of silence, save for the usual sound of dripping water, before there was a response. Slowly the sound of distant growling invaded the hallway.

"Hey don't sound so angry; you're the one that's dragged me here!" Naruto yelled as he stood up and headed in the direction of the growling.

As Naruto walked, the water which flooded the corridor splashing in protest, the growling became increasingly louder until he reached an archway in the wall of the hallway. Red light poured out from the passage and as Naruto stumbled down it the growling abruptly ceased.

After a dozen metres the passage suddenly opened up into a huge room, so huge the roof was in shadow and invisible to the naked eye. But it wasn't the size of the room which would astound any visitor; no, it was the huge metal cage which occupied one side of it.

The bars of the cage were thin steel and held shut by a single piece of paper on which was the kanji for 'seal', and behind the bars, it's crimson eyes glinting and huge canines bared menacingly, was the Kyuubi no Kitsune.

"Hello there!" Naruto said loudly, not seeming to care that he was stood in front of the most powerful demon in existence. "Is there a reason why you're angry or is it your time of the month?"

"**You!**" Kyuubi's voice boomed through the chamber, "**You insolent piece of flesh! How dare you?! I have tried to be cordial and haven't even sent you one nightmare in several years, and **_**this **_**is how you repay me?**"

Naruto yawned. "What is it I'm supposed to have done now, oh mighty demon?" he said mockingly.

"**What have you done?! You ignorant fool!**" Kyuubi raged, spittle flying from his fanged mouth, "**You are **_**my **_**human, and as su-**"

"I am not _your _human!" Naruto interrupted angrily, "I belong to no one, especially you!"

"**YOU ARE MY VESSEL!**" Kyuubi yelled so loudly the bars of his cage shook.

"I didn't choose this!" Naruto shouted back, "I don't want to have a thousand year old demon stuck inside of me!"

"**That doesn't change the fact that as my vessel you have certain obligations!**"

"Obligations?" Naruto said, confused.

"**Yes kit, obligations. Obligations like staying **_**away **_**from certain people!" **The volume of the fox's voice rose with anger.

"What the hell are you talking about now?" Naruto asked suddenly tired.

"**What am I talking about?!** **THIS IS WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT!" **

Abruptly the water on the ground began to swirl until a small tornado was spinning several feet from the demons cage. And there, his blue eyes twinkling and a grin on his face, was Minato.

"Minato?" Naruto said as he stepped closer, a smile instinctively appearing on his face as he gazed at the image of his best friend. "What have you got against Minato?"

"**WHAT HAVE I GOT AGAINST HIM?!" **Kyuubi raged**, "You imbecile! Do you not recognize who this insufferable human is?! Ever since he reappeared I've been trying to get out of this place and tear him limb from limb! It's amazing you haven't felt me clawing at this blasted seal!"**

"Leave Minato alo...wait where do you know Minato from?" Naruto said, bemused.

"**You really don't know who he is, do you?" **Kyuubi said quietly and the fox's disbelief was evident in his voice.

"Am I supposed to?" Naruto said indignantly, irritated that the demon knew something he didn't.

"**Yes actually you are," **Kyuubi sounded oddly resigned, "**Look into the tornado. You will see who he is soon enough.**"

Usually Naruto ignored any commands Kyuubi gave him to ensure the fox didn't start to think he was in charge, but the blonde teen just couldn't squash his curiosity and he took a miniscule step forward and leaned towards the water-cyclone eagerly.

A tendril of red chakra leaked out from between the bars of the cage and slithered like a luminous snake into the twirling waters of the tornado.

Several seconds later another image appeared in the pool, except this time it was moving and was tinted red from the Kyuubi's chakra. Naruto watched the scene play out with a mixture of amazement and wonder.

The Kyuubi, infamous for his temper and emotionless attitude, scolded himself for his sudden feelings of nervousness when he thought about the kits reaction when he discovered who the man he trusted truly was.

Naruto's eyes were trained on the pool. The image inside was of a deep forest and a dark star speckled sky. The forest was flying passed though and occasionally Naruto saw a furry red paw stretch out in front of him. He swiftly realized he was looking at a memory of Kyuubi's where he was running. Naruto took another step forwards, strangely fascinated.

The Kyuubi ran blindingly fast, the trees green blurs as he raced onwards. Then, in the distance beyond the line of trees, Naruto spotted glinting amber lights. His heart lurched as he recognized the shade of the lights: they were streetlights. His guess was proven correct when the lights grew closer until Naruto could make out the distinctive shape of a village he knew off by heart; Konoha.

Naruto eyes went wide as hundreds of shinobi poured out of the gates. He'd been expecting to hear an alarm to signal Kyuubi's arrival but as he leaned even further towards the image he realised there was no sound to the memory.

The blonde teen watched, riveted, as the Kyuubi fought with the leaf shinobi. He forced down the bile that clambered up his throat as he saw claws rip and tear at the struggling humans, forcing himself to watch, his subconscious mind already knowing what was going to happen next and longing to see it for himself.

The destruction seemed to go on forever and Naruto was pleased and weirdly proud of how stubborn his village was, how they weren't giving up even as Kyuubi moved closer and closer to the walls of Konoha.

Then, suddenly, what Naruto was waiting for happened. There was a huge puff of smoke from the direction of Konoha, about 300 feet away from where the Kyuubi was stood, and a huge toad appeared.

The toad was massive. It's skin was a dark red and it wore a blue jacket, a pipe perched on its lip. The image focused more clearly on the toad as the Kyuubi directed all his attention on his competition. Naruto squinted as he saw noticed a shadowy figure stood on the back of the toad.

His heart leaped out of his chest as the Kyuubi in the memory charged towards the toad and the image of the man became clearer.

First Naruto saw the famous fire-trimmed cloak of the man, billowing out in the wild wind of the night. As soon as the image was easier to see Naruto's eyes went automatically to the bundle of cloth the man carried.

He could see nothing beyond the cloth but he knew what, _who_, was nestled inside the blankets the man held.

It was him...himself...Naruto....as a baby...before the Kyuubi was sealed....still innocent...still another normal child...not hated...not loathed...without memories of horrifying loneliness weighing him down...

And even though Naruto knew he was staring transfixed at an image of himself as a child, at a memory of Kyuubi's which couldn't be altered, he suddenly felt the need to reach out and yank the new born baby free from the picture. To save the child from years of suffering, of aching isolation, of knowing he was hated but being clueless about the reason.

Naruto felt the tears running down his cheeks as he continued to stare into the moving picture in the depths of the red-tinted tornado but did nothing to stem them.

It was only when the bundle of cloth was laid carefully atop the toads head that Naruto turned his attention to the man.

As the man straightened up, his hands flying into the hand-seals which would devastate the life of the child in front of him, Naruto finally got a peek at the man's face.

What he saw made him gasp and his eyes widen in a mixture of shock, sudden realization and terror.

He recognized the man. He knew the messy blonde hair, the sky blue eyes filled with determination, the slightly curved jaw that gave the immediate impression that he was about to burst into laughter, the tanned tone of the man's skin and even the shape of his nose.

But it couldn't be! It was impossible! No! NO!

Naruto took several steps back, the expression of a man who had just seen his entire life come crashing down plastered across his whisker-marked face. Denial coursed through him, attempting to smother the panic and shock clawing its way through Naruto's system.

But his attempts at denying the truth were hopeless, as his eyes were still fixed on the man's face, absorbing each detail and making an odd mental note that the man looked younger and healthier in the Kyuubi's memories than what Naruto was used to.

Several moments passed with Naruto simply examining the man, his eyes still open as wide they could go, his heartbeat racing a mile a minute and his mind full of confusing swirling thoughts. He didn't notice the man had finished the life-damning jutsu until there was a flash of blindingly bright light and the memory was no more.

Naruto stood paralysed, shock freezing his limbs in place. He had no sense of existence any longer. He didn't know nor care where he was. All he knew were the multitude of emotions tumbling through his still reeling mind: surprise, panic, disbelief, amazement, anger, irritation, horror, resentment, despair and countless others which he couldn't identify in the raging whirlwind that his mind had become.

"**Kit...**"

The Kyuubi's voice dragged Naruto away from the tumult of his emotions and into the present. He raised his head slowly to meet Kyuubi's gaze, not noticing that in his anxiousness his body had subconsciously drawn on his chakra and his skin was bordered with an outline of the glowing blue substance.

The Kyuubi shoved back any feelings of pity and sympathy as he stared into the pale face of his vessel. The kit looked like hell, his cerulean eyes staring deploringly upwards at him, begging him to tell him it was all a lie.

When Kyuubi dropped his gaze Naruto knew, with the certainty that he knew he was the container of the Kyuubi no Kitsune, that what he'd seen was real and the man really was who he thought he was.

"The man..." Naruto's voice rang clear and echoed loudly in the huge room.

"Minato..." the name felt heavy and hollow as he drove it out of his reluctant mouth.

He knew without doubt that he had to say it out loud, to prove to himself that it _was _true, that it wasn't all a crazy illusion his mind had conjured up to torment him.

"He's..." he voice broke as he struggled with the words.

"Minato...he's...he's the Yondaime."

And Naruto's whole world seemed to collapse as the painful impossible unbearable truth hit him like a sack of bricks.


	16. Chapter 16

Tick tock.

Tick tock.

The clock was mocking him. Minato knew it. For the fifth time in as many minutes he glared at foul contraption on the wall of Naruto's kitchen, daring it to continue its infernal ticking.

Tick to-

The sound of smashing glass resounded through the apartment as the small clock fell to the kitchen floor, a shuriken wedged firmly in its face. Minato stared uncomprehendingly at the broken clock for several seconds, before he cursed and jumped to his feet.

"Damn it Minato!" he mumbled to himself as he cleaned up the mess, "Naruto's been gone for less than a day and you're going insane!"

He tipped the jumble of broken glass and plastic into the bin. "Really, next you'll be talking to yourse-" The blonde man stopped abruptly, a look of incredulity on his face as he realized that he was, in fact, talking to himself.

"Damn it..." he grumbled quietly as he collapsed back onto the bed, making a mental note to see if he could squeeze a sofa into the tiny apartment.

Rays of evening sunlight sneaked through the gaps between the closed curtains and lit the pale yellow wall opposite an entrancing gold. Dust mites danced in the air, the usually invisible particles glittering in the sunbeams. Minato watched them twirl and thought half-heartedly that if he was a dust mite perhaps life would be a little less complicated.

A sudden breeze blew and pushed the curtains aside and for a moment the room was filled with sunlight and the smell of dirt and new grass and _Konoha_. Minato took a deep breath, relishing the blend of smells which were seemingly unique to Konoha. Never in his travels had Minato encountered anything which smelled remotely like Konoha – not even the other Hidden Villages were anywhere close.

It wasn't just the smell though – it was the very atmosphere. Minato could practically feel the contentment of each happy villager oozing around him. The air seemed to pulse with energy and – even in the worst of weather – there seemed to be a lingering sense of warmth and security.

Minato eased into the mattress of the bed (ignoring any stray springs which had decided they enjoyed randomly poking unsuspecting blondes) and allowed himself to relax for the first time in quite a while. He pushed away all thoughts and simply _existed_.

He slowly closed his eyes and a smile of contentment grew on his face. He'd placed seals around the apartment so no one could enter without alerting him first, so there was no danger of being discovered in such a vulnerable state. Gazing at the darkness of his inner eyelids Minato slowly dulled his senses and gave his usually busy mind a rest, permitting himself to simply drift.

The Yondaime sighed in bliss. Simply existing was the most relaxing thing in the world. No worries, no fears, no stupid fox demons intent on killing the most precious person in his life-

"Naruto!" Minato shot up into a seating position, his blue eyes wide in a mixture of nervousness, apprehension and shock. Guilt soon joined the array when he realized in his attempt to relax he'd actually fallen asleep. The apartment was now bathed in the shadows of late evening, meaning he'd been asleep for about two hours.

Cursing Minato jumped to his feet and began to pace across the floor of the apartment. One hand, in his nervousness, instinctively went to where he hid his weapons and drew out a kunai. He twirled it on the end of his finger, not seeming to care that he looked like an idiot doing so. It was a nervous habit he'd developed after Jiraiya-sensei had taken to attacking him at random intervals to test his reflexes. He'd had to have a kunai ready at a moment's notice and having one in hand when he thought Jiraiya was near always calmed him. The habit had kind of stuck.

"You baka Minato!" the blonde man scolded himself as he paced, "What kind of father are you?! Falling asleep when your son's in the chunin exams – he could've been killed while you lazed about! And what if Rokai had attacked, eh? The whole village could've been destroyed and you would have slept right through it!"

And then, because an irrational amount of fear suddenly launched itself upon him, he stumbled to the window and peaked through a gap in the curtains. He sighed in relief when he saw the village was as normal and undisturbed as it could get and quickly drew back.

Minato stood still for a second and collected his thoughts. He slowly replaced the kunai and took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down.

After another deep breath he ambled over to the bed and collapsed upon it once more.

'_Just go back to sleep'_ he told himself, '_When I wake up I'll be a few hours closer to Naruto's return'_

With that reassuring thought resounding through his head Minato welcomed sleep when it came for him, not knowing that across Konoha his son was wide awake thinking about him.

Naruto stared up into the canopy of leaves. The sun had nearly finished its evening descent and the leaves looked like little pieces of amber. Naruto himself was perched on a log at the edge of a small clearing. He absently chewed on the nutrient bar that was serving as a late lunch and thought over what he'd learnt earlier that day.

'_Minato is the Yondaime...the man who sealed the Kyuubi within me barely hours after I was born and condemned me to years of loneliness and hatred...I should hate him'_

Naruto sighed as he finished the nutrient bar and let his gaze drift over to his other two teammates who were both asleep a few meters away from him. All three of them were covered in grime and no doubt smelled horrible, but out of team 7 Sakura definitely looked the worst. Her hair was now the same length as Sasuke's, she was covered in dirt and large bruises and small cuts littered her arms and neck.

This was mainly because when Sasuke and Naruto had both fallen unconscious she'd dragged them as far as she could before creating a shelter under the roots of a huge tree. She'd set a few traps but not an hour later a genin team from Sound had managed to reach her. They'd then attempted to attack the slumbering Sasuke and Sakura had been forced to fight to protect her teammates. She'd actually put up a good fight considering the fact that she had never really focused on her training before, but it was three against one and during the fight Sakura had been forced to cut her hair to free herself from one of the Sound genin's clutches.

Luckily though team eight had showed up before the Sound team could cause any more damage and hurt Sakura further. Apparently Rock Lee, who they'd only met that morning, had developed a crush on Sakura so when he'd seen she was in trouble he'd gone to 'rescue' her and his two teammates had followed him.

When Naruto had finally awoken it was to the sight of three Konoha genin he'd met earlier and his two teammates sat in a circle negotiating.

FLASHBACK

Naruto struggled into a sitting position, pushing his new discovery to the back of his mind so he could focus on his team.

"Naruto!" Sakura's voice called out and suddenly there was a pair of hands helping him up. Naruto blinked and frowned when he realised that it had been Sakura that he'd heard calling to him before he collapsed. She must've come back – even after he'd told her not to.

"Are you okay?" Sakura asked.

"Yeah...what happened to your hair?"

"Baka Naruto," Sakura growled and swiped him across the head.

"Itai itai! Gomen Sakura-chan!"

"Dobe."

"Shut up teme!"

"Naruto!" Another swipe was aimed at him but this time Naruto dodged, grinning foxily.

"Ah! Team seven is truly youthful!" a voice yelled enthusiastically.

Naruto turned to face team eight and his brow creased in confusion.

"What are you three doing here?" he said.

"They came and helped me protect you and Sasuke from Sound nin about an hour ago," Sakura answered for them.

"Like I needed protecting," Sasuke muttered, looking like his pride had just been given a hard kick.

"Don't be ungrateful teme," Naruto said as he and Sakura moved to sit by Sasuke. Although his voice was humorous his face was serious and there was a calculating glint in his eyes.

"I'm guessing you three are still here because you're requesting some sort of payment for helping us?"

"Wow dobe didn't know you knew such big words," Sasuke mocked, smirking.

"Shut it teme I'm trying to negotiate!" Naruto growled in response.

"We want your scroll," Neji said, deciding to ignore the two boy's petty arguments.

"Speak for yourself," Tenten snorted, "We don't have to take their scroll – we can easily get one ourselves."

"Tenten is right Neji, this is very unyouthful," Lee said, a frown on his face.

"We want your scroll," Neji repeated his demand, his pale eyes never leaving Naruto's.

"You sure we can't tempt you with anything else?" Naruto said hopefully.

"Your scroll will be sufficient."

"We'll give you all of our rations!" Naruto declared.

"What?"

"Naruto-"

"You have rations?" Neji said, cutting off Sasuke and Sakura's protests. Sakura looked between the pale Hyuuga and her apparently crazy blonde teammate and frowned nervously. Sasuke growled low in his throat at the way things were going.

"Yeah. Enough to last all three of us for two more days," Naruto explained, grinning foxily.

"How did you know you'd need rations?" Tenten interrupted her confusion evident in her voice.

"Lucky guess," Naruto said, shrugging it off.

"Okay then. We will take your rations," Neji conceded.

"Great!"

Ten minutes later team eight left, their pockets now considerably heavier and packed full of team seven's nutrient bars.

"Now what dobe?" Sasuke snarled, thoroughly ticked off. "What are we supposed to eat?"

"Did you forget?" Naruto said, grinning widely. His hands moved swiftly into hand seals and he said "Key Summons no jutsu!" The space where he'd placed his hand was now occupied with a box of nutrient bars and box of chlorine pills. "As long as there's food in my apartment we won't go hungry," Naruto explained.

"How does that jutsu work Naruto?" Sakura said, her natural curiosity kicking in.

"Umm...well it's kind of hard to explain but I'll try," the whisker-marked youth said, smiling at Sakura. "You see first you have to find a safe area we're you don't think no one will ever look. Then you do this funny sort of seal around the area and push your chakra into it. After that anything you put in the area can be summoned using the Key Summons no jutsu."

"Wait a minute Naruto...do you mean you have to constantly have your chakra powering the seal?" Sakura said, not believing her ears.

"Well yeah it wouldn't work if you didn't," Naruto said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"But that would mean there's a constant drain on your chakra!" Sakura said, her voice rising slightly in her shock.

"So?" Naruto said, not comprehending what she found so surprising.

"Dobe. You shouldn't have a drain on your chakra," Sasuke said slowly as if talking to a small child.

"It can lead to chakra exhaustion," Sakura led off from Sasuke.

Naruto said "My chakra reserves are really big so it shouldn't happen to me," by way of explanation.

"Are you sure?" Sakura said, her worry for her teammate expressed in her voice. Naruto suddenly felt guilty for all those times he'd told Minato she was annoying and an idiot – he'd have to tell Minato she was nicer than he thought.

Naruto abruptly froze and frowned sadly when he realized he could no longer talk with Minato. _No, not Minato_, he corrected himself; _the Yondaime._ The man who'd lied to him all these years – the former Hokage couldn't be trusted with his secrets and opinions and thoughts. Trust was a two-way thing after all.

"Naruto?" Sakura's anxious tone dragged him from his depressing thoughts. Naruto started when he realized he had allowed his gloomy thoughts to show on his face and quickly replaced his sad expression with a wide grin.

"We should probably move before another team finds us," Naruto said quickly, trying to cover up his momentary lapse.

Sasuke contained his frown. Something was bothering the dobe. But then again something was bothering _him _too; a certain large powerful blue fox demon to be precise. The black-haired teen forcefully stopped himself from shuddering – now there was an encounter he didn't want to remember.

However it seemed he wouldn't have a choice. The demon had briefly explained, after Sasuke had stopped hyperventilating in shock, that he was _borrowing _Sasuke's chakra for a few weeks and that he shouldn't bother himself about it since he couldn't really _do _anything to stop him. Sasuke mentally frowned (his real face still held his trademark smirk though his black eyes had a glazed quality to them) when he realized he'd forgotten the name of the current resident in his chakra. Roami...Roaki...Sounds close...Rokai? Yes that was it...

As a combination of fear and repulsion swept through him Sasuke once more prevented himself from shuddering as he completely absorbed the fact that there was a living, terrifyingly powerful fox _demon _hiding in his own chakra core. As if having to fulfil his promise for vengeance didn't cause him enough trouble...

"Hey teme!" Naruto's shout pulled him back into reality. "Stop daydreaming we're leaving!"

END FLASHBACK

Naruto moved his gaze away from his two snoozing teammates and sighed loudly. Although he knew it was just asking for trouble he was kind of hoping someone would disturb them i.e. attack one of the several kage bunshin he had looking out for enemies. A good fight was just what he needed to take his mind off the whole 'Minato is really the Yondaime Hokage' issue.

_I should hate him, _Naruto told himself for what felt like the hundredth time that day.

Above him the sun had disappeared from the sky and the first of the night stars were appearing. A crescent moon hung low in the sky.

_But I don't! _Naruto mentally roared – so loud that the Kyuubi jumped in his sleep before closing his eyes again muttering something about "stupid emotional meat-bag". Naruto, in typical Uzumaki Naruto fashion, expressed his frustration by kicking a nearby stone. He winced when it turned out to be harder than he'd thought and mumbled "stupid fucking stone" under his breath.

"What did the stone ever do to you dobe?"

Naruto jumped and would've drawn a kunai if he didn't recognize the endearment as unique to only one person. The blonde turned to face Sasuke and stuck his tongue out at the Uchiha before turning away.

"It looked at me funny."

"Idiot," Sasuke said but Naruto could sense the humour beneath it and smiled.

Sasuke shook his head in disbelief at his idiotic teammate and allowed himself the tiniest smile. He contemplated going back to sleep but decided not to. It would in the long run leave him troubled and exhausted anyway since he was too terrified of meeting Rokai in his dreams again to actually sleep for more than ten minutes at a time.

With those wonderful thoughts hanging over him Sasuke stalked forward and sat beside Naruto on the log. The blonde turned to him, his raised eyebrows displaying his surprise and curiosity.

"Couldn't sleep," Sasuke grunted in answer to the silent question.

A silence, punctured only by the sounds of the forest around them, descended. It lasted for several minutes before it gradually transformed from companionable to awkward.

"I could teach you a jutsu," Naruto said, feeling the need to break the silence which hung like a shroud around them, "You know – to the pass the time."

"Idiot. Good shinobi keep their jutsu to themselves," Sasuke said, smirking at the blonde's idiocy.

"Don't be stupid teme! We're family right? Family share everything", Naruto blurted out, only realising his mistake when Sasuke suddenly stiffened beside him.

"Family?" Sasuke said weakly. His gaze was directed solely on the floor, but his shaking hands portrayed his discomfort.

Naruto considered not answering at all then decided that was simply the coward's way out of the uncomfortable situation he'd landed them in - and Uzumaki Naruto was anything but a coward.

"Yeah...I always think of you as some sort of big brother...but then again..."

Sasuke turned his head to stare at Naruto, evaluating the troubled look on Naruto's face and thinking that the genin was about to withdraw his statement and start acting like an idiot again.

"...Maybe I'm the big brother since I'm so much more mature," Naruto finished off, grinning widely and chuckling at his own awesomeness.

Sasuke stared in disbelief for a moment before he growled and swiped Naruto across the head.

"Hey!" Naruto squawked indignantly, nursing the new bruise which would be completely gone in less than a minute, "What was that for? Teme you hit almost as hard as Sakura-chan."

"Almost?" Sasuke said, raising an elegant eyebrow.

"You've never been hit by Sakura before, have you?" Naruto deadpanned.

"Dobe..." Sasuke muttered under his breath, shaking his head in response to his teammate's antics.

For a moment the Uchiha had a brief flash back of spying on Naruto and what looked like an older version of his blonde teammate many months before their conversation. He'd overheard Naruto describe their relationship similar to being brothers, but he'd ignored it thinking Naruto was being a baka again.

For several seconds Sasuke reviewed what he felt for Naruto and silence reigned once more. After what felt like hours the quiet was broken by the anxious voice of the black-haired teen.

"So...brothers then?" He said, trying his best to contain the sudden wave of nervousness which assaulted him.

"Yeah...brothers."

Naruto stared at the sudden smile on Sasuke's face before he returned it.

"Are you sure you don't want me to check your hand again, Naruto?"

"Nah Sakura, I'm fine. Fuss over Sasuke instead – I think he might've actually broke a nail in that fight."

"Hn. At least I didn't break my hand."

It was the second day of the exam and, judging by the position of the sun, about three in the afternoon. Team seven were now journeying to the tower in the centre of training ground 51. They'd managed to get the white scroll off a genin team from Rain at around noon and were now aiming to get to the tower as soon as possible by running through the branches.

"Naruto are you sure I ca-"

"Really Sakura I'm fine!" Naruto said, exasperated.

"You won't be in a minute blondie!" Naruto barely dodged the kunai sent his way and quickly did a back flip onto the ground. His two teammates soon joined him their backs to each other creating the ultimate defence.

The three stood tense for several seconds before their opponents revealed themselves by slinking out of the shadows of the trees.

"You!" Sakura said, glaring fiercely at the three newcomers. It was a sound team.

"I love your hair pinkie," the female nin mocked.

"Who are they?" Naruto asked.

"The team that tried to get to you two when you were unconscious yesterday," Sakura explained, her gaze never leaving the three sound nin stood opposite them.

"Hn. I owe you guys some broken limbs," Sasuke said, smirking at the sound nin.

"Uchiha right?" One of with spiky black hair said, "Crushing you should be fun."

"Be careful Sasuke-kun, Naruto," Sakura said and Naruto grinned when he realized she hadn't added the customary 'baka', "These guys use some weird sound attacks."

"Hn. Cheap party tricks," Sasuke leered.

"They're not party tricks. You'll see that once we've destroyed you!" the girl replied.

"Enough gossip," Naruto shouted, grinning wildly as he pulled his hands into a hand-seal, "Kage bunshin no jutsu!"

A puff of smoke hid team seven from view for three seconds before the wind blew it away to reveal three Naruto's, Sasuke and Sakura all stood in fighting positions holding kunai.

"Kin take the girl, Zaku the Uchiha, I'll take the blonde idiot," the sound nin who had yet to speak, whom was covered in bandages, yelled before he launched a shuriken at Naruto.

"Come on pinkie, it's time for a new haircut," Kin taunted Sakura.

"Bring it on bitch!" Sakura shouted, allowing her inner personality to come out for the battle. Immediately after she launched three kunai in quick procession at Kin; Kin dodged all three and cackled.

"Is that all you've got?"

"No way near," Sakura retorted. Kin pulled out a senbon needle and was about to throw it when she spotted movement from the corner of the eye. The sound genin swiftly ducked the fist aimed for her head. Spinning round to face her attacker she was shocked to see Sakura stood not even two metres away.

"How did you-?!" Kin screeched. Instead of answering Sakura moved forward and swiped a leg under Kin's, meaning to knock her off her feet. Kin jumped over them but couldn't avoid the fist which came shortly after. It caught her in the jaw and sent her stumbling back. Kin was essentially a long-range fighter and, although well-trained in genjutsu and tricking the opponent, her taijutsu was sloppy and below even Sakura's - whose taijutsu was okay at best.

"Behind you!" Sakura's voice called out from behind her.

_What?! _Kin thought frantically as she jumped and span around to face Sakura, _how does she move that fast?! _

"How did you increase your speed so much from our last fight?" Kin shrieked as she prepared to evade any of Sakura's future attacks.

"One of us is a kage bunshin, dumbass," That was the last thing Kin heard before something hard and metal slammed into the back of her skull and she fell unconscious. The Sakura which had knocked her out released its henge revealing itself as a Naruto kage bunshin. The bunshin grinned before popping itself so the original Naruto would know the result of Sakura's fight.

While Sakura fought Kin Sasuke moved away from his teammates so he could fight Zaku undisturbed and not endanger his teammates with any of his fire jutsu.

_I need to get him down fast before he can try any of his sound tricks _Sasuke strategized as he shifted his hands into hand-seals.

"Fire: Mythical Fire Pheonix no jutsu!" Sasuke called out his jutsu and shot four small fireballs at Zaku.

Zaku evaded the attack and laughed harshly "You should've hidden shuriken in the fireballs baka. You might've actually hit me!"

"I did," Sasuke said, smirking.

"What?" Zaku said as he half-turned. He quickly spotted the shuriken embedded in the tree behind him and swore when he saw the nin wire attached. He speedily backed away from the wire expecting a fire attack to be directed along it.

"Replacement no jutsu," Sasuke said quietly and replaced his body with a rock behind Zaku. Before Zaku could spot his manoeuvre the Uchiha kicked the nin in the back of his knee joint – a natural weak spot.

"Shit!" Zaku cursed as he automatically fell onto one knee. Using the advantage Sasuke briefly considered just killing the sound nin to save trouble later on but decided the genin wasn't worthy enough to be his first kill and hit him in the back of the head with the blunt of his kunai, effectively knocking him out.

"That was pathetically easy," Sasuke said, sighing in annoyance as he moved to check on his teammates.

Meanwhile Naruto was also finding his fight oddly easy. When they'd first begun the fight he'd sent one kage bunshin charging forward to attack Dosu head on. Dosu had simply dodged the bunshins punch and sliced its arm with a kunai efficiently popping it with a puff of smoke.

While Dosu was momentarily blinded by the smoke Naruto moved his hands in a quick sequence of five hand-seals before saying "Earth: Blinding Dust Fog no jutsu."

The jutsu was off of the latest scroll he'd received from Minato. Using chakra to alter wind currents, as well as disturbing the earth slightly so it was more grainy and dusty, it created a cloud of dust and dirt particles which blinded the enemy. The size of the cloud was based on the amount of chakra poured into the jutsu.

The cloud appeared speedily, thanks to quite a bit of practice Naruto had put into it in the past. Once the dust had risen completely the real Naruto performed the "Under Earth no jutsu" and disappeared underground while the remaining kage bunshin charged forward to attack directly.

Dosu, seeing that his eyes were now useless, focused intently on the sounds around him. It was because of his skill with detecting and analysing sound waves that he managed to step back and avoid the kick aimed at him. What he wasn't expecting though was a pair of hands to suddenly grab his ankles and drag him down into the earth.

When Dosu was almost completely submerged the kage bunshin kicked the sound nin in the head, knocking the genin out. The real Naruto, who was still underground, used 'Replacement no jutsu' to replace himself with the kage bunshin.

Naruto gazed at the defeated sound nin, or rather his slumped head, and grinned foxily. "That was a great warm-up!" he said and, laughing at his own brilliant and totally awesome joke, turned to check on his teammate's progress.

Ten minutes later team seven had dragged their peacefully slumbering opponents behind a bush and tied them using nin wire to a large tree.

"They were easy to beat. They must've already been tired from getting their scrolls," Sasuke said, scowling down at the sleeping sound nin.

"Probably," Naruto agreed. "They'll wake up in about two or three hours," he grumbled, "They'll just be waiting for us in the next part of the exam."

"What if I put that sleeping genjutsu we learnt in the academy on them?" Sakura suddenly questioned her teammates.

"Sleeping genjutsu?" Naruto said, his bemusement shown in his tone.

"Yeah we learnt it in the last year of the academy, remember?" Sakura said.

"No," Naruto said honestly, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

"That's because you were hardly at the academy during the last year," Sasuke snorted.

"Oh yeah...I kept forgetting to go," Naruto said, the grin still plastered across his face.

"How could you forget to go to school?" Sakura said shaking her head in disbelief.

"Orphan remember? No parents to remind me," Naruto explained, his grin dropping slightly, "Plus I suck at genjutsu so I never went to those lessons," This was partly true. During the last academy year they stopped teaching them anything really useful so he'd skipped a lot and trained instead.

"Oh...right. Sorry I forgot," Sakura apologized.

There was an awkward silence for several seconds before Naruto said "So if you use this sleeping genjutsu what happens?"

"Dobe," Sasuke said, "It puts them to sleep."

"Hehe of course," Naruto said, "Should've realized with the name and all. So how long does it last for?"

"Mine can last for about 18 hours before it breaks," Sakura exclaimed.

"Hmm....how about we cast this weird genjutsu thing and take their scrolls? That way when they do wake up they'll have to find more scrolls so there's less chance of them passing," Naruto explained his plan.

"Good idea Naruto," Sakura said, not quite believing she was complimenting the annoying blonde idiot she'd hated for years.

"Hn. The smart you is kind of scary," Sasuke responded.

"Hey!" Naruto said indignantly.

Ten minutes later the genjutsu had been cast and team seven were now continuing on their way to the tower in the centre of the Forest of Death, the sound nins scrolls safely tucked away in sealing scrolls.

"Hey how's your hand?"

"It's fine Sakura!"


	17. Chapter 17

The tower loomed above team 7 like a giant stone tree – easily distinguishable among its organic siblings. Not one to be particularly interested in architecture Naruto duly noted that there were was a large door on the front and the only windows were at the very top of the building before he lost interest and strode confidently towards the entrance.

"Naruto you baka! There could be traps," Sakura scolded him nonetheless her reprimand didn't stop her from heading towards the door herself.

Sasuke glared half-heartedly at his careless teammates then turned his gaze momentarily to the sky as if asking the Heavens 'Why me?'

"That'd be kind of mean, don't you think? After all the trouble we've gone to already," Naruto said, grabbing the doorknob and turning it. When the door didn't immediately move when he pushed he mumbled something best left not said and braced his whole weight against the aged wood.

"Dobe. We're shinobi. The word 'mean' isn't in our dictionary," Sasuke, having been convinced there were no traps in the immediate vicinity when neither of his teammates suddenly blew up or got skewered by kunais, walked forward and raised an elegant eyebrow at Naruto's attempts to open the door.

"Don't be... a prick... Sasuke," Naruto grunted as he pushed his whole weight against the door, "If we... were mean to our clients... no one would hire Konoha shinobi... and we'd go bust."

Sasuke, although inwardly acknowledging the truth in Naruto's surprisingly intelligent words, was about to retort when Naruto gave a particularly vicious heave and the door gave way with a ear-splitting creak. Naruto yelped and landed with a thud on the concrete floor beyond the door.

"Naruto you baka!" Sakura said, marching forward and somehow managing to drag the heavier-than-her teen from the floor. "You could've broken something! How do you expect to be a chunin if you can't even open a door without almost killing yourself?!" she ranted, shaking the dazed blonde like a rag doll.

"W-wha..." Naruto's attempts to speak were swiftly cut short.

"You could've landed wrong and snapped your neck or something stupid like that and then where would you be, huh? No where that's where! In hospital or fighting with only one arm and covered in bandages and- "

"Sakura. Look. He's fine." Sasuke thankfully butted in and Sakura stopped her rapid shaking of the poor blonde and blinked slowly, as if awakening from a trance.

"Oh. Right," she murmured, releasing her tight hold on Naruto's shirt, "I guess... I was being a bit of a mother-hen. Sorry Naruto."

"It's okay," he gasped, "but if that's how a mother acts, no offence Sakura, but I'm kind of thankful I've never had one."

"Yeah...well you could've hurt yourself," Sakura defended herself.

"Don't worry. I'm invincible. Never broke a bone in my life. And you don't have to look out for me Sakura," Naruto said, confused. Sakura never seemed to care before – perhaps now that he trusted his team with the other part of him, the quick-thinking strategist, they trusted him with more of themselves in return. Now that he thought about it, as well as Sakura's sudden bout of protectiveness, Sasuke had been less insulting and more conversational, never mind their new 'brotherhood'. It seemed miracles were really occurring in team seven and Naruto couldn't believe that a little trust on his part had led to such a drastic change in the space of a few days.

"Someone has to do it," Sasuke suddenly interjected. Seeing the disbelieving looks sent his way Sasuke quickly added "Your carelessness could drag down the team dobe."

"Whatever Sasuke. Why are we stood out here arguing anyway? I got the door open," Naruto replied.

"Right. Look out for traps. Don't let down your guard," Sasuke ordered and the three teens proceeded into the room beyond the door, their muscles tense and the cold metal of their kunai biting into their palms.

The space was, unsurprisingly, partly circular but ended at a straight wall. It wasn't very large and the walls were of the same dull grey stone as the outside. Directly opposite them was a set of double doors upon which was carved the Konoha emblem, but the three could tell even from that distance they were firmly locked. Apart from the doors the room was completely bare.

"Well... this isn't very interesting," Naruto remarked, relaxing from his fighting stance and ambling into the centre of the room.

"Really dobe you're going to get blown up one day and I'm just going to laugh," Sasuke mumbled but, along with Sakura, moved forward until he was stood beside the jinchuuriki.

"I'll believe that when I actually hear you laugh," Naruto retorted.

"Hey, are those kanji? Above the doors?" Sakura exclaimed, ignoring the arguing among the two males of her team.

"What?" Naruto said looking up. Sakura was right; above the double doors was a large banner upon which were the familiar markings that had been in the academy textbooks.

" 'For every smile to be seen there is a frown, for every evil done a greater good appears, and while one man cries another man cheers,'" Sasuke quoted the banner, " 'The world will never be free from hatred, nor will it ever be happy with peace, and only shinobi can hope to keep the balance. So, until the scales are tipped, we will live in a world of..."

"Is that it?" Naruto questioned.

"It ends there."

"Obviously there's a word missing," Sakura stated, "and to get beyond those doors and to the next part of the exam we have to work out what it is."

"Maybe. But then why do we have these scrolls?" Naruto pulled the scrolls in question from the pocket they'd been stored in.

"They were most likely a test to see how well we followed orders. At the beginning the proctor told us not to open them, remember?" Sasuke said, taking the black scroll from Naruto and rolling it distractedly in one hand.

"I guess. But what's with the colours? White paper I understand, but what kind of ink is visible on black paper?"

"Wait a minute!" Sakura abruptly yelled, "I think I've got it! We have two scrolls right? One black and one white?" her teammates nodded in answer, "well what do you get when you mix black with white?"

"Grey?" Naruto said, confused.

"Exactly! Think about what the kanji say. It's a riddle basically going over the theology that not every person can be happy in the world while, at the same time, not everyone can be full of hatred. It goes on to say the world will never be completely empty of evil, represented by the word 'hatred', nor will it ever be full of evil people. Now, tell me, what word would you use to describe a peaceful, _pure_ world?"

Naruto frowned and said "When I think of pure I think of white."

"Precisely! Now what colour do you think would represent a completely evil world?"

"Black," Sasuke said, comprehending what Sakura was trying to say, "So our black and white scrolls symbolize the two types of worlds mentioned in the riddle..."

"And since the riddle says that the world will generally be a mix of the two, to get through those doors we have to put those scrolls together – black plus white equal grey! 'We will live in a world of grey.' It fits." Naruto completed, grinning at his two teammates.

Sasuke grinned and before either of her teammates could move she'd grabbed the scrolls off them laid them on the floor near the doors, the white laying above the black.

"Get back," Naruto advised.

Team seven had no time to heed his advice though as, almost immediately after the two scrolls were positioned; there was a flash and large puff of smoke. Coughing Naruto grabbed a kunai from the pouch at his waist, the other two teens shortly following suit.

However when the smoke had fully cleared Naruto's weapon wielding hand went limp and he swiftly called out "Iruka-sensei!"

"Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke," the brown-haired chunin replied; though it was obvious from his tone that he most happy about seeing Naruto.

"Congratulations. You've passed this part of the exam!" he went on to say, and then he grinned and said "I'm very proud of all three of you!

"There was no chance team seven was going to fail this exam Iruka-sensei," Naruto said, "Not with me on the team!"

"You knucklehead," Iruka replied, "I'm sure Sakura and Sasuke worked very hard to get through this exam. Don't go taking all the credit."

Sakura and Sasuke shared an uneasy look, both thinking the same thing; sure they'd worked hard during the last few days but it was obvious to both of them that without Naruto they would have definitely failed.

"Actually Iruka-sensei," Sakura said nervously, not believing she was saying this, "Without Naruto we would still be in the forest, probably lost. Isn't that right Sasuke-kun?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes and dug his hands into the pockets of his shorts sullenly, but mumbled "Yes. That's right,"

Iruka looked a bit shocked at that (probably because it was the first time he'd ever heard _anyone _praise Naruto). Then he smiled at the blonde – who was blushing and staring determinedly at the concrete floor.

"Well it's good to know you're contributing to the team Naruto," he said, ruffling his favourite (former) student's hair.

"What's next?" Sakura asked, eager for it to be over with so she could wash properly for the first time in hours.

"Well there's about eight hours until the deadline so until then you can do whatever you like. Come on; I'll show you to your rooms."

Twenty-five minutes later Naruto was kicked back on a comfortable single bed, one among three in a large partly circular room. Leading from the room were three doors; one which led to a long corridor of identical rooms and the other two connecting to bathrooms; one for Sakura and one for Sasuke and Naruto.

Naruto sighed, trying to ignore the sounds of Sakura showering so he could get some shut-eye. Sasuke had vanished into their shared bathroom around the same time as Sakura and, since Naruto had yet to hear a peep from him and could only guess at what the brunette was _doing _in there, the blonde didn't want to try and get a shower in case he walked in on something best left un-thought-of.

The teen gave an over exaggerated shudder and turned onto his stomach, pressing the side of his whisker-marked face into the pillow. Strangely he was actually missing the bruising springs of his own bed, as well as the cosy atmosphere of his apartment which his current habitat lacked. Closing his eyes Naruto tried to imagine that the mild discomfort in his side wasn't his own elbow digging into him but just another bump in his mattress, and that the spacious room around him was much smaller and that the walls weren't blue but yellow; shining like amber in the wake of the sunrays.

The world around him faded as he sank into his own daydreams. Sleep clawed at him and Naruto easily gave in, allowing himself to sink deep into its embrace.

When the first quiet snore escaped Naruto's mouth one of the doors slowly creaked open. A pale face crowned with a mop of jet hair peaked out before the body swiftly followed suit. Uchiha Sasuke closed the door with an almost silent tap. Careful to be as quiet as possible he perched on his own bed beside Naruto's and scrutinized the slumbering blonde.

"Brothers..." he murmured, "That's what you said. I haven't had a family for so long... what does it mean then? Being a brother again?"

"It means you have to look out for each other."

Sasuke jumped; startled that someone had answered his musings. Looking up he was only slightly surprised when his eyes met the glimmering green of his pink-haired teammate. He hadn't even noticed that the background sound of running water had turned off.

"You were eavesdropping," Sasuke stated rather blandly, too confused to be bothered with glaring.

"Sorry," Sakura replied in a tone which bore no resemblance to any sort of apology, "But did he really say that you were brothers?"

Sasuke frowned, assessing the girl now sat on the bed at the other side of the snoozing Uzumaki. Her pink hair was still wet and dripping on her dress and her skin was flushed from where she'd probably spent many minutes scrubbing away at the dirt. Sasuke took in each detail of the girl and, partly relying on the assumption that she had matured at least a bit from her days at the academy, came to the conclusion that she was trustworthy.

"Yes he did. We both agreed last night that from now on we would be brothers in everything but blood," Sasuke said.

Sakura blinked twice. In truth, although she'd heard Sasuke's mumblings, she was shocked at such a revelation about the strength of the relationship between the two males in team 7. She was still getting used to an at least mildly talkative Uchiha and oddly intelligent Naruto and this new information caused her brainwaves to come to a crashing halt.

"S-so where does that leave me?" Sakura asked once her brain had finally kicked into gear. Then, once she'd realised what she'd said, she had the idiotic urge to kick herself for saying something so selfish.

"You're our teammate," Sasuke said quickly, glaring at her. He knew he was being unreasonable but what he and Naruto shared Sakura would – hopefully – never understand. They were both orphans and alone to bear the weight of the world's expectations upon their shoulders (though Sasuke wasn't sure how he knew Naruto bore such expectations – he just knew).

"Oh."

Sakura looked away, ashamed of herself. She should be glad that Naruto and Sasuke were finally getting on and forming such a strong bond; it could only be good for the team. But then why did she feel so jealous? Was it because of her crush on Sasuke? Was she upset that Naruto would always be closer to the Uchiha than she was? She dared not believe, after all the years she had believed herself to be a girl of common sense and logic, that she was such a selfish person so she pushed these thoughts to the very back of her mind.

Sasuke read the emotions running rampage across Sakura's face as easy as one might read a book. He frowned as guilt, a feeling he had felt but not acknowledged for many years, flooded his system. He briefly glanced at the still innocently sleeping blonde and sighed. He knew that Sakura wanted to be part of their impromptu family also. But was he ready to trust her? Suddenly a memory assaulted him. The memory of the hellishly blue place where he'd encountered Rokai. Of thinking aloud to try and trigger his memory, of (for a moment so short it wasn't even a millisecond) thinking of his team as family.

His team – not just Naruto.

"You're family too," Sakura's eyes were wide with shock.

"Y-you mean..?"

"I'm not repeating it," Sasuke said stubbornly, "I said it and I'm not saying it again."

"Okay," Sakura said, beaming at the brunette. Sasuke groaned in response and Sakura giggled.

"So, if we're all family, I guess we're going to have to do what you said earlier," Sakura said once she'd managed to clamber down from the emotional high Sasuke's statement had caused.

"What?"

"Earlier you said that Naruto needed someone to look after him. You said it was because his carelessness would drag down the team, remember?"

"Yes..."

"Well we'll just have to look out for him won't we? That's what family do."

"Yes. Family do that," memories of dozens of black-haired men, women and children waving to him as he walked past flashed through Sasuke's head, memories of warm welcomes, trusting smiles and happy faces.

These were quickly replaced with memories of bodies, blood and spinning sharingan – and a terrifying thought: what if Itachi tried to take away Naruto and Sakura too? An anger Sasuke hadn't felt since he first looked upon the corpses of his parents consumed him and he knew that if _anyone _tried to take away what he considered as family Satan himself would be envious of the destruction that would follow.

"So that's settled then."

"Yes. If the dobe refuses to look out for himself, we'll just have to do it for him."

Uzumaki Naruto continued to slumber, clueless to the plotting of his two teammates.

* * *

In a dark room in a location undisclosed and unknown a man with long black hair and skin the shade of deadly white ice was sat on a simple wooden chair. The only light seeped into the room from a single candle upon the floor, but it did so with an air of reluctance; only creating a barely lit circle of light and leaving the remainder of the room so deep in darkness it could be cut with a knife.

The man was scrutinizing a narrow gash running down one of his arms. His gaze was disinterested – almost as if it was just another spec of dirt on a dusty floor.

Somewhere in the darkness a shard of candlelight reflected, briefly, off something silver.

"Kabuto."

"Yes sir?"

"This jinchuuriki... it seems he has somehow contaminated Sasuke."

"What would you like me to do?"

"Find out more. I wish to know how _close _the two truly are. The boy is much stronger than he should be. Keep an eye on him. I will not allow him to interfere."

"Yes sir."

The injured arm was turned ever so slightly, so the albino skin shone with an eerie radiance.

"And Kabuto?"

"Yes?"

"Do not kill him."

"Sir?"

The albino's lips curved into a thin smile.

"I wish to have that pleasure myself," he murmured, his yellow eye glinting as he bandaged the wound.

* * *

The hours travelled as swift as a feather in a river and soon team seven were being ushered by a random chunin into a circular room. Though the walls were same uninteresting grey as the majority of the tower, the room was different in the fact that it was much larger than any team seven had currently been in. It was obviously an arena of some sorts as stairs led up to a viewing balcony which overlooked the wide open space the three teens were being steered towards. Along the platform were several doorways which no doubt led to other parts of the towers and, tied off from the bulk of the balcony, was a section mostly dominated by half a dozen chairs. To the side of this seated section the balcony came to an abrupt halt to make room for a large blank screen fixed into the wall. Turning around Naruto noticed with no small amount of nervousness that above the wide archway that they had entered from was a green cross; the same sign which hung over the entrance to Konoha Hospital. No doubt not everyone in the room right now were expected to leave in one piece.

The other passing teams were in lines facing the Hokage and some shinobi Naruto didn't recognize. Naruto was fairly surprised to see that nearly all the teams were Konoha Shinobi.

Furthest from the single entrance was the Sand team. Naruto quickly looked away from Gaara in an attempt to avoid the confusing emotions (mainly a strange mix of fear and sympathy) the redhead stirred within him. His blonde teammate was looking around with undistinguished arrogance and the boy in the funny black suit and make-up (seriously? Make-up?) was staring glumly at the floor.

Stood beside the sand team was Hyuuga Neji's team (Naruto didn't know their number). Tenten was rolling her eyes at Lee's sparklingly bright grin while Neji was frowning in a way that clearly said I-am-not-with-him.

Next was Kabuto's team – the strange silver-haired teen who'd had a suspicious amount of info about the chunin exams. Naruto didn't know his two teammates and, though they were both obviously male, any distinguishable features were hidden by black shrouds that covered the majority of their faces. Kabuto, as if sensing their gaze, turned to look at them and smiled bashfully.

Beside them were two teams that Naruto was slightly surprised to see: team 10 and 8. While he'd had every confidence that the rookies were good, he'd been unsure if they'd be able to complete the exam in the small space of three days. Even he'd found it tough at times and he knew jounin level jutsu. Shikamaru, predictably, seemed to be asleep on his feet. Ino, having only just noticed the lack of attention from her black-haired teammate, was trying to get past Chouji to wake the lazy teen up. Meanwhile, stood to their side, Kiba was laughing under his breath at team 10, Hinata was typically pushing her fingers together and her pale cheeks were glowing faintly red in embarrassment and Shino was stood at attention facing the superior shinobi stood not too far away (though for all Naruto knew he could be looking at team 10's antics through the corner of his eye – those glasses worked brilliantly when you were trying to appear serious while secretly laughing).

Naruto grinned and strolled towards his friends.

"Hi guys! You passed then?"

"No. We're just here enjoying the view," Shikamaru remarked, opening one eye to look drearily at him.

Naruto was about to retort when a voice said "Yeah. I'm sure the back of your eyelids are simply _fascinating_."

All the rookies turned to look at Sasuke in astonishment.

Sasuke, seeing he was suddenly the centre of attention, mumbled "What?" before stuffing his hands in his pockets and glaring rather determinedly at the nearest wall. A faint blush tinted his white cheeks.

Naruto blinked slowly then beamed and said "Nothing teme!"

Kiba however contradicted Naruto's words completely when he mumbled "Sasuke made a _joke_," in the voice a person uses when they've just seen a dolphin do the tango.

Naruto turned to Kiba and said, in the tone an adult might use when explaining the earth is round to a three-year old, "Yes I know. Me and Sakura have been working very hard trying to teach him some social skills."

Sakura frowned and was about to reprimand Naruto for making a joke at Sasuke's expense when the Uchiha stopped her by saying "Shut up dobe! I don't need your help to be..._social_." Sasuke said the word like it left behind a foul taste.

"Oh really?" Naruto said, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes really!" Sasuke snarled, but there was definitely a grin (if only a small one) on his face.

"Right... because you've had so much practice."

Sakura couldn't help it. She giggled.

Ino, Shikamaru, Chouji, Kiba, Hinata and even Shino all stared at team seven like their fellow genin had suddenly sprouted three heads.

"Am I dreaming?" Chouji said through a mouthful of junk food.

"If you are then dream me out of here. It's just too weird," Kiba said.

"Sakura," Ino said, tired of being confused, "What's got into you three?"

Sakura turned to her best friend and asked "What do you mean?"

"Well... Sasuke-kun told a joke for starters. And him and Naruto-baka aren't arguing either..."

"Don't call the dobe a baka," Sasuke interrupted, glaring at the blonde girl.

"Err..."

"Attention! Get in line," the confident voice of an unknown chunin prevented anything else from being said and the rookie's moved into formation which an odd sense of relief. There were several seconds of murmurings and mutterings before all the teams were in line and standing to attention, eyes fixed firmly on the shinobi stood opposite them.

"Thank you," the chunin said, "My name is Gekko Hayate and I-" The man said nothing else as he suddenly began coughing rather violently into his hand. The teams stared at him, wondering if this was part of the exam – were they meant to try and save him from choking to death or something?

Fortunately the man soon stopped coughing and frowned in a way that somehow gave the impression of being both sheepish and irritated.

"Right. Yeah I'm Hayate and I'm the proctor for the final part of the chunin exams," the brunette raised a hand to silence the outbreak of whispers, "Don't get too excited. Normally you wouldn't see me for a while yet, but we seem to have a problem."

He coughed again, quieter this time. He levelled an assessing stare at all the genin lined neatly before him then sighed "There's too many of you so we've got to have a preliminary round."

The whispers turned into mumbles of protest.

"Yeah I know it sucks," Hayate said, "But there's nothing we can do about it, short of pulling names out of a hat."

This instantly silenced any protests. Hayate smiled somewhat grimly.

"Good. Now before I explain the rules does anyone want to forfeit? These matches will be one-on-one and a test of both your strength and endurance. You will no longer be fighting as a team, but for yourself and your future as a shinobi. These matches could be deadly."

A silence hung in the air and all the competitors glanced at each other nervously. The tension was a fog in the air and a few beads of sweat broke out simultaneously on several foreheads.

"No one?"

Another thick moment of silence descended that echoed eerily of the unnerving atmosphere of the first exam with Ibiki.

"Okay then," the relief was tangible as the urge to put a hand in the air and simply give-up was pushed to the dusty corner of minds where it would never be looked upon again.

"The computer behind me," the brunette indicated the large black screen Naruto had noticed earlier, "will pick names at random and partner you against an opponent. You will have a maximum of thirty minutes in order to beat your opponent – any longer and the match will be stopped and I will decide who wins based on the number of injuries suffered, amount of jutsu used, the skills shown etc. Any questions?"

No hands were raised and Hayate took this opportunity to cough some more.

"Right. The Hokage wishes to talk to you before we start."

The Sandaime Hokage, who had been stood beside Anko and some other unidentifiable chunin near the other side of the room, strode confidently forward, a warm smile on his wrinkled face and kind glitter in his eyes. Hayate bowed his head in acknowledgment of the most powerful shinobi in the village then shuffled away.

"Good day Shinobi of the Leaf and Sand," he frowned for a moment, "It is most unfortunate that no others were skilled enough to qualify for this part of the exam, but this exam was designed to separate the brilliant from the best and the fact that you have come so far is a testament to your skill and abilities as shinobi."

Akamaru yipped loudly in agreement and Kiba blushed crimson as he slapped a hand over the little puppy's mouth. The Hokage smiled indulgently and continued: "You are the chunin, jounin, even ANBU of the future. This test is all that stands in the way of progress. Good luck Genin, and do your best."

It was clear that the Sandaime had finished his encouraging speech and Hayate shambled back to his previous position. He pointed at the stairway of dusty stone which led to the platform. "Just wait up there until your name is called."

Five minutes later all the teams had claimed a different part of the balcony and several were leaning eagerly over the metal fence to look at the computer screen. A creaking sound rang out as one of the numerous doors leading from the platform opened and the sensei's of the qualifying teams trooped in. Team 7 were mildly surprised to see Kakashi there – after all he did have an amazing reputation of being late.

"Yo!" Kakashi said once he'd reached his team, "You guys still in one piece then?"

"Yeah but it wasn't really that hard. It would have been easy if not for..." Sakura trailed off, looking at Naruto and Sasuke awkwardly. Should she tell Kakashi about the incident with that weird Orochimaru guy?

"If not for what?" Kakashi said his visible eye narrowing as he caught the secretive glances his team shared.

"We ran into someone..." Naruto started, looking around briefly for eavesdroppers, "...unpleasant. _Snake_-like, you might say," he finished, hoping Kakashi would get the hint.

Kakashi certainly did get the hint and his eye widened. He, along with the Sandaime and his other most trusted shinobi, were aware that Orochimaru had infiltrated the chunin exams but they believed it was only so he would have a vital opportunity to attack Konoha when it was meant to be at its strongest and most secure. They hadn't considered that the Sannin might have other motives. Kakashi's gaze moved slowly to Sasuke; after all Orochimaru was infamous for his obsession with bloodlimits...perhaps...?

"Did he hurt any of you?" Kakashi questioned though it was obvious he was directing the question at Sasuke.

"He...tried to," Sasuke said, suddenly nervous. What was he supposed to say? Yeah, the freaky snake guy bit me and pushed lots of his foul chakra into me and I felt invincible but suddenly demonic chakra forced it out, and by the way there's a demon called Rokai currently living in my chakra core? Yeah that would _really _go down well.

"Explain," Kakashi said sternly, dragging Sasuke from his thoughts.

"He bit me and I could feel foreign chakra entering me. But then it suddenly... wasn't there anymore," Sasuke improvised, managing to fake a bewildered expression.

Kakashi frowned. Orochimaru had tried to place a cursed seal on his student and it had somehow been unsuccessful. The silver-haired shinobi knew just from looking at Sasuke that the boy wouldn't be able or willing to tell him anything else.

"I'll be right back," Kakashi said with one of his irritating curved-eye smiles. Team seven watched him head towards the Hokage's seat and whisper something in the man's ear. The Sandaime frowned and shot Sasuke a quick glance before leaning down to talk to Anko and Ibiki.

"It's like some sort of conspiracy theory," Naruto mumbled as they watched each shinobi on the platform above chunin shoot team 7, Sasuke in particular, both alert and confused glances.

"Yeah I see your point," Sakura conceded, "Though you never told us about that snake man trying to put his chakra into you Sasuke."

"Didn't think it was important," Sasuke quickly said, pushing any guilt he felt to be back of his mind. After all he wasn't really lying to his teammates and impromptu family. They hadn't _specifically _asked about the incident so he should feel fine about keeping Rokai a secret from them... right?

"You could have got chakra poisoning teme," Naruto scolded in a way amazingly similar to Sakura when she was in motherhen mode.

"But I didn't."

"You got lucky," Naruto agreed though he was still glaring at his black-haired teammate.

"Shush!" Sakura butted in, "They're turning on the monitor!"

The teens arguing ceased as they both followed Sakura's line of sight to the blank screen. Hayate was now facing the monitor and the whole room watched him pull a small remote from one of the weapon pouches on his waist and press a button. Immediately the screen began to flash as names flickered in and out of view. After about three seconds the process began to slow as the names gradually appeared for longer before they finally stopped.

One of the genin of team seven gulped as they stared with apprehension at the names glowing in neon green on the screen.

**HARUNO SAKURA**

**Vs**

**TENTEN**


	18. Chapter 18

It was late afternoon and soon dark would descend upon the village hidden in the leaves.

Uzumaki Naruto walked slowly; subconsciously dragging his feet to escape the confrontation which he knew was inevitable. Thin scratches adorned his face and he reeked of the stinging antiseptic the medic-nin had mercilessly rubbed into the wounds. His clothes, bought new only a few days before, were almost in tatters and torn in numerous places. His ruffled condition was the result of the chunin exam preliminary rounds, which had come to a conclusion barely forty minutes before.

Surprisingly (because, despite his skills, some part of him always anticipated the worst) he'd managed to defeat his opponent – Temari of the Sand. She had been a difficult adversary, tougher than her appearance suggested, and her fan had been added to Naruto's list of weapons-which-are-awesome-except-when-directed-at-you. Fortunately Naruto's favourite technique, Walking Shadow no jutsu, was impermeable to wind attacks since the simple shadow construction was simply that – shadow. Naruto had simply used the technique until the persistent kunoichi had ran out of chakra. Naruto was aware that he'd gathered some curious glances from the watching shinobi – after all, from where could the 'idiotic jinchuuriki' have learnt such a jutsu? – so following the Sandaime's congratulatory speech he'd swiftly slipped out, putting to use the stealth skills he'd earned after years of organizing complex pranks. Eventually someone would ask questions, but until that was inevitable (and until he'd thought up a believable excuse – for what idiot would believe that _truth_?) he'd rather recuperate in his apartment.

Here, though, is where Naruto's plans hit a snag. Here was the reason he was dragging his feet, the reason why his mind was currently a whirlwind of questions and uncertainties.

His apartment was not empty; far from it. Instead it was currently occupied by a mothering yet powerful shinobi; a man who'd Naruto had trusted with his deepest secrets, most horrid fears, his entire _life_, for nearly half his life and who had completely failed to ever say '_Hey Naruto, yeah, I'm actually the supposed to be dead Yondaime Hokage. You know the man who sealed the Kyuubi no Kitsune in you? The one who kind of ruined your life? Yeah, that's me!'_

Upon first finding out, from the Kyuubi no less, Naruto had been beyond shocked and had refused to even think about it until he'd almost broken into pieces while his teammates were sleeping. When he'd finally worked up the courage to actually contemplate about Minato really being the Yondaime he'd been angry – beyond angry; he'd been utterly furious. He wanted to scream and yell and cut and destroy things... he would have continued in this tangent if he hadn't sensed Kyuubi's approval. He'd dragged himself back from the edge, unwilling to ever please the monster inside him. Misery had followed the anger, but fortunately being midway through the second round of the chunin exams had distracted him.

Now, though, he had no distraction and he was slowly getting closer to the place where Minato was waiting for him, most likely eager to hear how Naruto had done so far. Confusion and grief had melded into an unidentifiable mess in his head, leaving him feeling nauseous. A part of him was screaming for him to run, to never return, but he would be foolish to think that Minato wouldn't track him down.

No. Running would be cowardly, and the future Hokage of Konohagakure would never be a coward. It was time to face the music, no matter how sick said music made him feel.

-----------

Minato was sat cross-legged on Naruto's bed, using a specialised stone to sharpen his shuriken. Beside him was a rather large pile of gleaming newly sharpened kunai and on the floor all the scrolls he'd found in Naruto's apartment had been stacked into alphabetical order based on the subject – he had corrected it twice; once from chronological order based on the publishing date, and once from alphabetical order based on the author. The small apartment seemed to sparkle, the kitchen units gleaming and the wooden floor shiny enough that he could see his own distorted reflection within its surface. Having grown frustrated with his inability to remove his mind from Naruto, he'd sought to distract himself by performing a thorough clean of his son's home. So far the strategy had proven somewhat successful, though he was quickly running out of tasks to perform.

Ten minutes later he'd finished with the kunai and was returning the sparkling weapons into the sealing scroll he kept on his person. He'd just finished with the last scroll when a familiar chakra signal wafted at the edge of his senses.

Minato grinned gleefully and quickly jumped to his feet, ready to welcome Naruto home and to hear all about his boys' first chunin exam. He hoped Naruto had managed to pass, but even if he hadn't Minato was determined to be comforting and to encourage Naruto to train harder for next time.

Still grinning Minato reached the front door and yanked it open, eyes lighting up as he saw Naruto on the doorstep, his hand partly stretched out as if he'd just been about to grab the handle. For a moment identical pairs of blue eyes met each other, but Naruto quickly glanced at the floor, breaking eye contact. Minato frowned in confusion, then pushed it away and grabbed his son by the shoulders, dragging him into the apartment. He propelled Naruto's oddly limp body onto the kitchen chair, kicking the door closed with the back of his foot.

"So," he said, pulling up another chair, "how did it go? Did you use the jutsu? Did your team pass? It wasn't too tough was it? If it was, I mean if you fai- didn't pass, I'm not upset or anything because there's always next time and you can always train ha -"

"I passed."

Minato stopped his rambling as an oddly powerful feeling of pride welled up in his chest. Out of habit he reached forward and ruffled Naruto's spiky lochs, so much like his own, but stopped when his actions didn't garner the usual loud protest from Naruto. He frowned and slowly pulled his hand back, suddenly wary. Uneasily he realised that Naruto, other than for that split-second glance at the door, had yet to even look at him.

"Naruto?" he said cautiously, aware that he was stepping on thin ice whenever his son seemed upset, "Is something wrong?"

Naruto failed to answer, though Minato noticed with not a little amount trepidation that one of his son's hands, dangling over the side of the chair, curled into a fist.

"Naruto?" he tried again, pushing the slight sense of panic he felt to the back of his mind.

This time Naruto granted him an answer.

"I know."

Minato's eyes widened and panic returned with a vengeance. Questions raced through his mind as he desperately tried to think of a secret that Naruto could have discovered besides the one he knew would break his son's heart. His instincts told him the latter was true – that his son _knew_ – but he ignored them and clutched at hope like a final lifeline.

"Know?" Minato said, cursing himself as he stumbled over the word.

"I can't believe I never realised before," Naruto began to mumble to himself, and Minato, desperate for something to prove his hopes true, leaned forward to hear him better, "You and the head, the tribute, you have the same hair. And nose... but you never frown like that, or I've never seen you, and I trusted you, and you've nearly always been here, and you're funny and nice and...and you're supposed to be dead, and why aren't you dead?"

Naruto abruptly looked up, directly into Minato's wide eyes, and the older blondes hopes shattered when he saw the tears.

"Why aren't you dead?" he repeated, louder this time so Minato couldn't pretend to mishear.

"I –I – I don't know," Minato stuttered, wishing he had some fantastic excuse, wishing Naruto had never discovered his betrayal; his lie.

"You don't know?" Naruto reiterated weakly. Then his disbelief was overpowered and fury consumed him. He leapt to his feet, sending the chair toppling with the force of his movement as he looked down at the cowering man before him, his glare burning with anger and hate and fear.

"You don't know?!" he screamed and allowed his animalistic instincts free reign as he mindlessly grabbed the table and pushed it onto its side, "You don't know?! How can you not know?! You're alive and you're supposed to be dead and you shouldn't be here but you are..."

Minato watched as his son continued to rant - grabbing anything he could get his hands on and launching it across the room, tipping over his own bed and tearing at the scrolls which Minato had conveniently forgot to put away – with a heart that ached with remorse and regret. Everything, everything he'd been trying so hard for, all his plans and patience were useless, wasted, because his son hated him and would never forgive him and _oh god _he'd lost him when he was just getting to know him...

When the small apartment seemed to be completely trashed Naruto came to a halt in the centre of the chaotic mess, his fists clenching and unclenching and his eyes once more trained on the floor.

"Just..." he said, and Minato's heart clenched more painfully as the rage in Naruto's voice was replaced with agony, "Just... why are you here?"

And Minato could easily conjure a million and one different excuses from the depths of his mind and he'd never wanted to the truth to come out this way, not ever, but the words were tumbling from his mouth before he could stop them.

"I'm your father."

Paralyzed with shock at his own confession, Minato could only watch dazed as Naruto launched himself out of the door and into the streets of Konoha, where rain fell lightly over the darkening evening.


	19. Chapter 19

**A reviewer threatened to kill him/herself if i didn't update soon. Not wanting to have blood on my hands i decided to quickly round up the chapter i was halfway through writing and publish it as soon as possible. I'm not going to say it's good, cos like i said i rounded it up quickly so i could update quicker.**

**Hope you enjoy, and if you do enjoy feel free to leave a lovely review! :)**

**

* * *

**Naruto didn't know where he was going; only that he needed to get away. What had been a light drizzle when he first ran out into the night was now a downpour; the thick curtain of rain drenched him and made it impossible to see more than a distance of three feet.

He half sprinted half stumbled down streets made unrecognizable by the blinding shower. He was in turmoil; never before had he experienced such misery and confusion. He couldn't think straight. He just ran.

He didn't realise he had stopped unti he shivered, the freezing rain soaking him to the bone. Earlier the desperate need to get away had distracted him from the cold; now he had stopped he couldn't stop the shudders that racked his body. Intent on finding shelter he pushed away his raging emotions long enough to examine his surroundings.

He was surprised to see where his feet had taken him. He was stood on the bridge where he regularly met his team. Below the river frothed as the rain poured its load into the heaving waters. Unable to think of an alternative Naruto jumped onto the banking of the river and ducked under the bridge. Relieved to be free of the heavy rain he slumped to the ground, unsurprisingly exhausted. Now the rain was no longer pounding into him his thoughts went straight back to why he was sat alone under a bridge in the rain. Hugging his knees he closed his eyes and forced himself to _think_.

Everything was confusing; nothing made sense. Less than a week ago he had trusted Minato with his life; now he wasn't even sure Minato was the man's real name. All he knew for certain was that Minato was the Yondaime Hokage – a man who was supposed to have died sacrificing his life to seal the Kyuubi no Kitsune into newborn Naruto. It had been days since Naruto had found out and he'd foolishly thought he could have talked with Minato calmly; with the maturity of a chunin hopeful. But as soon as he'd seen the man anger had flooded him and it was all he could do not to attack. When he had finally calmed down enough to ask Minato the question which had been troubling him the most, without blowing up and screaming in the man's face, Minato had revealed something even more startling; something Naruto couldn't, _wouldn't, _believe.

Minato was a liar; that Naruto knew for certain. He remembered not a week ago when Minato had told him he knew of the Kyuubi; the man had outright lied about how he knew of Naruto being a jinchuuriki. But that was a just a minor lie in the web of untruths Minato had spun around Naruto. _Everything _Naruto thought he knew now seemed intangible, unreal, false.

He no longer trusted Minato. That much was clear to him. Whether he hated Minato though was another issue entirely. His common sense told him that he had every right to hate the older blonde, but everything seemed to remind him of how _nice _it was being with Minato. Even the sound of the rain brought forth happy memories; specifically his and Minato's expedition to Ichiraku in the pouring rain and the game of chess he'd won after. But then reality would hit him and he would remember that it was _Minato _who was responsible for his status as a jinchuuriki; responsible for all the hatred he'd had to endure. Naruto reluctantly acknowledged that he would forgive Minato for that, since he knew that had he been in Minato's shoes the night of the Kyuubi attack he would have made the same decision, but what infuriated him the most was that Minato had _lied _to him.

After what felt like hours of deliberation Naruto came to the conclusion that what he felt for Minato wasn't hatred. He didn't even _dislike _the man. But neither did he like him. Minato just was - a figure in Naruto's life who wasn't worthy of his trust nor his hatred.

A voice in the back of his head pointed out what Minato had confessed him earlier that night, but Naruto pushed it away, unwilling to even think of the possibility of it being true. Too much had happened in too little time for him to even consider what Minato had said.

Once his thoughts slightly settled another problem presented itself. Eventually he would have to leave -he knew he couldn't stay under the bridge forever – and face Minato.

* * *

Minato hurried through the rain, straining his senses for a single trace of Naruto's chakra. He knew he had screwed up – badly – and needed to find his son to talk it out before he lost him forever.

The rain was slowing his search, but he hadn't been appointed the Yondaime for nothing. After twenty minutes he picked up Naruto's chakra signal near the ground where his team routinely trained.

The rain abruptly petered out into a fine drizzle. Taking this as good omen Minato quickened his pace. He had to find Naruto.

* * *

Naruto didn't notice when the rain stopped. The events of the day were finally catching up to him and he was struggling to stay awake. Resting his head on his knees he closed his eyes, promising himself he wouldn't succumb to sleep. The dark of his eyelids was soothing after the turmoil of the last hour.

"Naruto?" the voice jolted him from his dozing state, "Is that you?"

* * *

Minato landed soundlessly on the river bank, having already worked out where his son must be hiding to escape the rain. Ducking under the bridge he mentally prepared himself for Naruto's harsh, unforgiving eyes and accusations.

There was no need. Naruto had already gone.

* * *

Naruto sat slumped at the table in Sakura's kitchen, a mug of hot chocolate warming his trembling hands and a towel wrapped around his shoulders.

"How... how are you feeling?" Sakura asked nervously from where she was stood. Her eyes were wide with confusion and worry; she had never counted for sensing Naruto's chakra and finding him in such a terrible condition on her way home from grocery shopping. Luckily her parents were out of town, visiting her mother's sister a few miles to the South. If they'd been at home it was unlikely they'd have ever let Naruto through the door - Sakura didn't know why but her parents had always hated the shivering blonde huddled at the kitchen table.

"I'm okay Sakura-chan...thanks for being so nice," Naruto mumbled.

"No problem. We're teammates remember?" Talking of teammates, Sakura wondered whether she should try and contact Sasuke-kun. After their decision to become like family and look out for one another, especially Naruto, the Uchiha would probably be angry if he found out Naruto was upset and Sakura hadn't got in touch to tell him. In fact it wasn't a case of him 'probably' being angry at all. More of a certainty of it.

With this in mind Sakura glanced outside, where the faint amber glow of streetlights punctured the smothering darkness of the night, and then eyed Naruto speculatively. Coming to a decision she quickly left the room, only to return less than a minute later to throw a large baggy coat at her teammate.

Naruto instinctively dodged the coat, then looked up at Sakura in confusion.

"Put it on," she said, smiling faintly, "We're going to see Sasuke."

* * *

Later that night Naruto was curled in a spare bed at Sasuke's house. It had actually been scary, walking through the empty Uchiha compound to Sasuke's house in the centre in the dark of the night, but no where near as scary as Sasuke's expression when he saw the condition Naruto was in. Within minutes of seeing the small blonde he'd been forcing Naruto to drink yet another mug of hot chocolate before ushering him towards the bathroom so he could take a hot shower. Naruto had wanted to protest at the sudden mothering behaviour of his teammates, but had been too overwhelmed with confusion at said behaviour and exhaustion from the day's events to put up much of a fight.

When he'd returned from the shower, dressed in some of Sasuke's spare clothes, Naruto had been expecting to be badgered with countless questions and was preparing to lie through his teeth.

Instead Sasuke had given him a critical look then ordered him to bed. Naruto, in his surprise at Sasuke's behaviour and much too tired to really care any more, rushed to obey.

Naruto, despite his apprehension about the morning when Sasuke would no doubt demand answers, wrapped himself more tightly in the blanket and succumbed quickly to sleep.

He completely failed to notice the familiar face looking in through the window. Minato, who had followed his son's chakra trail to the young Uchiha's house, sighed at the frown on Naruto's sleeping face and swore to himself that he'd explain everything to Naruto at the first opportunity. In the mean time, knowing he would never get to sleep at Naruto's apartment with the owner absent, Minato made himself more comfortable in the branches of the tree and crafted a small genjutsu to hide him from prying eyes. Before long he too succumbed to sleep, his expression just as troubled as his sons.

* * *

**Sorry it took me ages to update, been very busy with exams and sixth form.  
**

**Anyhoo to make up for the super long wait I drew a picture based on a scene in this chapter. It's not very good, cos' i'm better at writing than drawing, but it was fun to do and i hope you like it :) The link is in my profile.  
**

**BTW - my internet is getting cut off (again!) very soon, so don't expect an update until at least a fortnight.  
**


	20. Authors Note

Okay, so the last time I wrote an AN for a chapter some guy really ripped into me, but I feel an explanation is in order for the lack of updates.

I'm just going to get to the point and say that there's a very good chance there won't be a new chapter. This story will probably remain discontinued.

I really am sorry, but I haven't read or watched Naruto since last September so I'm completely out of the loop, my last exams are coming up so I'm really busy revising, and I'm moving away and going to university in a few months, so any spare time I do have is being used to get ready for that.

However, I'm aware that this fic has a lot of watchers and a lot of people who want to see how it's going to end.

Therefore, if anyone wants to take this fic up, feel free to message me (it'd be nice to know your plans for it) and I'll let you know. I'm perfectly willing to hand over the reins to another writer.

Again, I'm really sorry, and I'm expecting a ton of hate mail for announcing this, but I thought it best that I tell you now rather than keep you waiting forever.

Yours,

L.E.


End file.
